OBITUARY FOR SISTER MARY JUDITH SCHMELZ
Beloved Sister of Mercy Mary Judith Schmelz passed away peacefully on September 4, 2024, at Mercy Convent at Springwell, her community's retirement home in the Mount Washington section of Baltimore. A Sister of Mercy for 78 years, she was 99 years old. Highly educated, brilliant and talented, she pursued a ministerial life of amazing variety, serving God's people in myriad ways in settings both local and far away.

Born in Baltimore, she was the daughter of Frederick William Schmelz, a mechanical engineer, and Margaret Samsthe Schmelz, a homemaker, and she was baptized Jean Margaret. Her earliest memories were of accompanying her parents in charitable activities around the city.  Devoted Christians, the family maintained a close and prayerful life, a foundation for the life choices young Jean Margaret would later make. In early childhood, she carried around the belief that she would eventually become a nun, and, as a nun she would be able to fulfil her greatest desire, to be a missionary.

Fully educated by the Sisters of Mercy, she nevertheless considered joining the Medical Missionaries, or the Maryknolls, even as she began her studies at Mount Saint Agnes College. After two years at the college, she transferred to the nursing school at Mercy Hospital, settling on new long term goals: She would become a nurse, then a doctor, and finally, a missionary. She would later say "My vocation got in the way, and I finally answered God's call." In September 1945, she entered the Sisters of Mercy at Mount Washington, where she made her novitiate and later continued her studies at the Mount.

Now Sister Mary Judith, she found herself being assigned to various college courses, none of which seemed to be leading her back into nursing, and she worried that her superiors simply did not know what to do with her. This was not an unusual situation for many new sisters, and Judith prayed for patience. Soon enough she was taking chemistry classes and finding them interesting, even fascinating. Energized by her new studies, Sister Mary Judith quickly became a chemistry major,and graduated with a BS in the subject in 1952.

After graduating, Sister Judith was assigned to teach science in various Catholic elementary schools, among them St. Bernard's. She would later admit this work was difficult and a bit disappointing, given the level of her recently acquired scientific knowledge. But she approached it with determination and energy, and relied on her own sense of humor as well. After only a few years, she was sent back to Mount Saint Agnes College, this time as a science instructor. She loved working with these young women, and was soon revered for her ability to make chemistry "fun." So strong was her work, and so great her comprehension, her Sister Superiors sent her off to the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, where she earned both Masters and Doctoral degrees in Chemistry.

Sister Judith continued teaching science at the Mount for more than a decade, but in 1966, she began her climb into school administration, an area brand new to her. Yet she quickly found her way into this variation of the educational world, and was quickly successful, first as Academic Dean, then as Academic Administrator. She seemed to carry her success across the street, right into Loyola College when the two schools merged. She loved her work during those years, especially her daily interactions with the young people who came into her office.

Her administrative talents did not go unnoticed by the many sisters who worked with her, and by the sister superiors of the Mercy community. And so it was that her name was raised as a potential leadership candidate.  In 1976, Sister Judith was elected to the Leadership Team for the Baltimore Province, a position she held for two terms. During these years, women's religious communities continued to change in ways that brought the sisters more fully into modern life. She remembered struggles concerning the definition of community living and acceptance of new forms of prayer. She believed in the value of group living: "living with others gets your rough edges rubbed off." She also felt that praying together was the best approach to prayer. But during her years in leadership, she listened closely to her sisters, and she prayed with them, only gradually growing to understand new ways of community life and prayer.

In 1982, Sister Judith moved gracefully into a new setting and a ministry that was both new and old. She initiated a project called The Learning Bank of COIL, a community based adult literacy program with one-on-one instruction in many areas of life, including parenting, job training, and eventually computer skills. Other sisters, skilled staff, and many eager volunteers became solid members of the Learning Bank team, and the subjects taught multiplied quickly. This kind of ministry was entirely new for Sister Judith, challenging but exciting for her. Working hands-on with those whose needs were so great quickly became her favorite among her many ministry experiences. But, for Sister Judith, the last and best was yet to come.

In 2000, when she was 75 years old, she was not thinking about retirement as others of her age might be. Instead, she was about to begin the ministry she had hoped for and dreamed of; she set off to become a foreign missionary. She arrived in Greater Georgetown, Guyana, prepared to carry out any and every ministry, to contribute her hard work and enthusiasm wherever she was needed. She arrived among strangers, and began to carry out works of ministry in ways she hadn't even imagined. Soon beloved among everyone whose efforts she joined, she found joy in the multiple areas where she ministered. Among them were teaching biochemistry to young women who were preparing to be nurses. She admitted that "I had to teach myself first! But I loved it anyway." She visited the elderly, the sick, and a nearby group of people with leprosy; and she worked hard at fundraising for the Mercy community there. In her work she came across young women and girls who were being trafficked, and she remembered Catherine's words about responding to the needs of the times, and another ministry was born. Proving once again that she was a woman with multiple talents, Sister Judith seemed able to carry out any sort of work that needed to be done.

For over 19 years she immersed herself in the lives of the people of Guyana, always with joy and optimism. She was fond of telling sisters and friends, "I'm the luckiest person I know, and the happiest I've ever been.!" Though ministering so far from her roots, she felt "as much a part of Mercy there as well as when my work was focused in Baltimore." Looking back at her long life in Mercy, she saw "only joy." She pointed out that her childhood desire to be a missionary was fulfilled in Guyana, and "I am so grateful to the community for making it happen, and so blessed to have traveled all over and to have known so many people."

Sister Judith wanted to remain in her beloved adopted country, but declining health eventually caused her to return to the United States. She moved into the newly opened Mercy Convent at Springwell, where her ministry became prayer and works of Mercy.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Wednesday, September 11, 2024 at 10:00 AM at Shrine of the Sacred Heart, 5800 Smith Ave, Baltimore, MD 21209, with visitation beginning at 9:30 AM.

Sister Judith is survived by one sister, Elizabeth Tobin of Colorado, and by eight nieces and nephews.  Contributions in Sister Judith's name may be sent to Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, 8403 Colesville Rd, Suite 400, Silver Spring, MD 20910.