In Memoriam
Sister Mary Henry Williges, O.P. ‘43
“I hope someone will hold my hand
as I move into the presence of God.”
What a privilege it was to hold those
precious hands which, throughout Mary
Henry’s life, reached out lovingly and
creatively to all – her parents, siblings,
sisters, lay friends, first graders, St.
Vincent boys, adult students, colleagues.
It was indeed a sacred experience for us.
Born on September 6, 1925, Clara
Maria Theresa Williges, as she was
named at her baptism two weeks later,
grew up in the Mission District of San
Francisco. Her father, John Henry
Williges, was an immigrant to California
from Hanover, Germany and her mother,
Marie Elizabeth Delwisch, also of German
descent, was a native San Franciscan.
Mary Henry once shared that her
childhood, was “loads of fun; we had a
heavenly family life.” She and her brother
Teddy, who became Father Theodore
Williges, a Franciscan missionary, were
the two younger children and were very
close until Teddy’s death. Her sister,
Margaret Williges Zukowski and her
brother John (called Jack) Williges, both
older, predeceased her by several years.
When she was a senior at Immaculate
Conception Academy, Sister Patricia
Reilly admired freshman Clara Williges,
who she found always to be “…friendly,
upbeat, jovial, happy and a true people
person.” These traits nurtured early on
within her loving home continued to
characterize the whole of Mary Henry’s
life. The cross of poor health that she
carried most of her