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Sister Maria Goretti Lovett
Sister Maria Goretti Lovett, age 90, died on November 25, 2022, at Nazareth HomeClifton. Born Esther Virginia to Hopson and Elizabeth Creason Lovett, and a native of Columbia, South Carolina, she entered the Ursuline Sisters of Louisville in 1951. She celebrated her 70th jubilee in 2021.
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Sister Maria Goretti obtained a bachelor’s degree from Ursuline College, Louisville, and a master’s degree from Cleveland State University. A graduate of Ursuline High School (now Cardinal Newman School), in Columbia, South Carolina, she was inducted into the school’s Alumni Hall of Fame in 2015.
In Louisville, Sister taught at Holy Spirit (1954–58) and Our Lady of Lourdes (1963–68) parish schools. She also taught in Morgantown, West Virginia, and spent 48 years teaching at parish schools in Columbia, South Carolina, until her retirement in 2016.
Sister Maria’s last teaching assignment was at St. Joseph Catholic School in Columbia, where she taught for 41 years and was known as the kickball queen. She pitched kickball every school day at recess, except for when it rained—then she would invent a game or pull out musical instruments.
Sister loved singing and said, “I had three words painted on my classroom walls: SING, SMILE, and LOVE. I believe that singing hymns is like praying twice. I think it makes a room brighter if you enter it smiling. And love is the greatest of all gifts of the Holy Spirit. Without love, there is nothing. I taught my first graders all three words. I wanted them to know that they are loved, and God put them here to love others.”
Another talent of Sister Maria’s was the ability to pull a child’s tooth. Students would come from every grade to have Sister pull their teeth, because, as one student put it, “It doesn’t hurt when Sister does it!”
In reflecting on her life, Sister Maria Goretti said, “I thank God for the many gifts he has given me, the greatest being my vocation.”
Sister Maria Goretti is survived by many nieces and nephews, as well as her community of Ursuline Sisters and Associates.
