Beloved Sister of Mercy Mary Ellen Brodie passed away peacefully on August 25, 2024 at Mercy Convent at Springwell, her community's retirement home in Baltimore. Sister Mary Ellen (formerly known as Sister Martin Marie), was 91 years old and had been a Sister of Mercy for 72 years. Sister had moved to Springwell in 2021, noting that it is located in an area called Mount Washington, the very same neighborhood where her life in Mercy had begun, as it was at Mount Washington that she completed her novitiate, making final vows there in 1957.

Born and raised in Washington, DC, she was one of seven children born to George Arthur Brodie, an architect for the US government, and Evelyn Birch Brodie, who was a talented seamstress  as well as a homemaker. Sister Mary Ellen remembered a childhood centered around the family and their parish community. Though she remembered happy times with loving parents, her early life was also touched with tragedy. Four of her siblings, all of them boys, died in infancy, leaving only Mary Ellen and two sisters to grow to adulthood. Mary Ellen always remembered her parents' faith and courage in these grief filled times.

The three sisters attended St. Anne's School in Washington, DC, where their teachers were the Sisters of Providence, and young Mary Ellen credited these sisters as the true source of her vocation, recalling that it was in first grade at St. Anne's that she heard God's call, and from then on never deviated from her chosen road toward religious life. She attended Holy Trinity High School, also in Washington DC, and grew to know and love the Sisters of Mercy there. By 1951, when she graduated from high school, she was certain she would join them.

However, encouraged by her father, to whom she was very close, she determined to enter the work force for one year. Despite her youth and inexperience, she was hired by the Government Map Services for a difficult and responsible job. She was taught a newly developed technique in a process requiring the use of what was then called "a contour pen." She quickly became proficient at this work, and surprised herself by discovering that she really liked her job, and enjoyed making friends with other young people. But this soon-to-be religious sister didn't see this job as anything but a brief deviation from her true path.  On February 2, 1952, filled with joyful anticipation, she entered the Sisters of Mercy at Mount Washington in Baltimore.

Sister Mary Ellen found her novitiate difficult, but "bearable." Finding her name in religion proved to be problematic, as she had always planned to be named after St. Therese of Lisieux, the Little Flower of Jesus, to whom she was especially devoted. In fact, the Little Flower was regarded by Mary Ellen's family as their personal patron saint. But nothing could be done to resolve this upset, as there were already too many Mercy sisters named for the Little Flower. A final solution was found when the Little Flower's surname (Martin) came to light. And Mary Ellen Brodie became Sister Martin Marie, "happy enough" with her name. Later, when many sisters were returning to their Baptismal names, she was glad to leave her masculine sounding name behind, and returned to her own, Mary Ellen.

She had entered the community with no particular career goal other than to become a Sister of Mercy, not an uncommon approach at that time. She asked only that she not be assigned to teaching school; any other ministry would please her. But that one wish was denied, and she was soon at work studying Elementary Education at Mount Saint Agnes College. After earning her BA in June 1956, only a few months went by before she stood in front of her first class of young children at St. Peter's Elementary School in Baltimore. Once again, she surprised herself by falling in love with her work and with each class of little ones she met in various classrooms where she was assigned. She taught in Columbus, Savannah, and Atlanta in Georgia, in Rockville, MD, in Hopewell, VA, and, starting in in 1969, at Immaculate Heart of Mary in Baltimore, where she found her true home. For 33 years, Sister Mary Ellen was a beloved fixture at IHM, fondly remembered by the hundreds of children who learned their lessons and were blessed in her loving care. Later, in 1971, Sister Mary Ellen earned a Master's degree in Education from Loyola College in Baltimore (now Loyola University Maryland).

Throughout the years she lived in convents, preferring community living even as many sisters moved into more individualized living situations. After retiring from full time ministry, Sister Mary Ellen continued working as a volunteer with children at IHM, and also spent many volunteer hours at The Villa, providing comfort and company for the elderly sisters there. She remained a faithful volunteer for many years, welcomed for her kindness and sense of humor, and her eager participation in fun and games. Only when her declining health made hours of volunteering impossible did she slow down. In 2021, Sister Mary Ellen moved into the newly opened Mercy Convent at Springwell, where she was able to share daily life with Sisters of Mercy she had known for many years.

Sister Mary Ellen was the last living member of her birth family, leaving behind devoted nieces and nephews, children of her two sisters who predeceased her. She will be remembered by many friends and former  students, and by her dear friend Sister Marjorie Gallagher, SND.  A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 9 AM on September 4, 2024, at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, 8501 Loch Raven Blvd, Baltimore, MD 21286. Interment at Woodlawn Cemetery on Liberty Rd will follow.

Contributions in her name may be sent to Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, 8403 Colesville Rd, Suite 400, Silver Spring, MD 20910.