Sister Mary Dorothea Sondgeroth

Loving Every Moment

Sister Mary Dorothea Sondgeroth, the President and Chairman of the Board of St. Dominic Health Services, Inc., just might be one of the most adorable, winsome, and completely transparent people I have ever met. I told her that we non-Catholics have two mental pictures of a Sister’s life—Julie Andrews or Mother Teresa. We both laughed. Five minutes into the conversation, I felt like I had known her forever. Even though she would only reveal her birth date as “in the dark ages” I can promise you that no matter how many birthdays she may have had, she will never grow old. There is a real twinkle in those deep blue eyes, and she radiates warmth. There is nothing aloof or out-of-date about Sister. She is all heart and soul—a real person engaged in living life with a joyful, passionate and active love for God and other people.

 

As the face of St. Dominic Health Services, Sister has won many an award for her outstanding business acumen. She is also a familiar face in the community, absolutely legend for her leadership in everything from Rotary Club to the Mississippi Symphony to the Junior Achievement Program to United Way, and more. Everywhere Sister Mary Dorothea Sondgeroth invests her limitless energy, you can be sure she leaves a lasting impression on everyone around. Claude Harbarger, President of St. Dominic Hospital, describes her as the ultimate example of “a servant leader” with a “real humility.”

She encourages, inspires, cheerleads, and rolls up her sleeves to work even harder than those who are following on her coattails. According to Harbarger, she has an incredible ability to do about ten things at the same time and enjoys every moment!

Bancorp South’s Hinds County Division President Tommy Darnell, is one who has worked with Sister Dorothea both inside St. Dominic Health Services and in various community organizations. He says, “She is successful because she works hard and is involved in all operational and strategic aspects of her company and our community.” He cites her patience and her kind, easy going manner, but notes, too, that she has a unique ability to command such respect from those who work under her leadership. She expects and receives the best from her staff, but her sincerity and gratitude touch everyone who is part of her team.

Family Roots

A native of Mendota, Illinois, Sister was one of twelve children born to Leo and Julia Sondgeroth. Six boys and six girls grew up on a large tract of land with horses, cattle, corn, and each other. Sister credits her large family with teaching her much about working in community, loving God, and valuing other people. She is the youngest daughter and number ten in birth order. I asked her if she was a compliant or strong-willed and challenging child. She laughed mischievously and answered, “Both.” Her dad passed away when she was in the seventh grade, but the land and the livestock allowed the Sondgeroth family to live comfortably. Sister Dorothea’s remarkable mother took great care to see that her children developed a strong and responsible work ethic and a solid spiritual foundation in Christ.

Mom shared with her daughter a certain spirit of adventure and spunk that shows itself in Sister’s checkered resume and her enthusiasm for new ideas and new endeavors. Climbing the Pyrenees mountains at age 79, Julia Sondgeroth told her daughter, “I’ve come this far,” and I am not going to miss a thing.” Something tells me Sister Dorothea is a whole lot like her mother.

Although chores were a big component in the fabric of a big family, Sister realized at a young age the difference between “needs” and “wants,” and she never considered her life anything but rich and filled with security and love. The Sondgeroths found time for playing team sports; riding bicycles and horses, roller skating, ice skating, and learning a great appreciation for all things involving the arts.

It was in high school at Sacred Heart Academy in Springfield, Illinois, that Sister was first “drawn to the religious life” by observing her teachers who belonged to the Dominican order. Dominicans’ service to God and others involves either education or health care. She noted her teachers’ joy and their delight in serving others, although, when God began to plant the idea of a similar calling in her heart, she resisted.

She graduated from high school and headed for Marycrest College in Davenport, Iowa. While she studied English, she also studied song, dance, piano, science, economics, and theology, too.

She dated “a lot” and participated in extra-curricular college activities, but real happiness and peace eluded her as this persistent sense of God’s calling would simply not go away. Finally she surrendered, and she says, “Peace was immediate.”

Her mother had married off five daughters when this youngest daughter announced that she wanted to become a Dominican sister. As she explains, “My mother told me she would support me in whatever I wanted to do—whether it was a wedding with all the trimmings or entering the convent.”

Following God’s Lead

 

There is still, for outsiders, some mystery associated with why anyone would choose such a life. Sister Dorothea remembers that she left for the convent in Springfield following a Sunday church service. When it was time to say good-bye, her youngest brother sobbed and hugged her as though he would never see her again. Of course that was not the case at all. She adds, “I have never looked back. My life has been more wonderful than I could ever have imagined. I have seen it over and over again that God always gives back so much more than He takes.”

Her advice for a young person who feels “uncomfortably” called into any arm of ministry is to “Pray. Seek counsel. Don’t give up and don’t get discouraged. And don’t give up seeking Him, because if the Lord wants you, He is going to keep at you. Let yourself just be and let God direct your paths. When you surrender to God, it is just amazing what is out there.”

For this Illinois farm gal who became Sister Mary Dorothea, the journey has been anything but dull. The path to becoming a Dominican sister involved two years of preparation in the convent. There were a lot of tests—on everything from academia to personality and aptitude and people skills—there were challenges every day. The course of study and a period akin to an “internship” took several more years. About six years after that Sunday afternoon when she entered the convent, Sister Dorothea took her final vows.

The Dominican governing body always tries to match Sisters’ jobs with their talents and aptitudes. Sister Dorothea was slightly surprised when, after a stint teaching first and second grades, then high school, she was asked to enter the field of health care. She willingly accepted even though the assignment included a return to school for a Master of Science Degree in Dietetics at St. Louis University followed by a move to Mississippi.

At St. Dominic Hospital as Director of Dietetics and a part time instructor in their nursing program, she fell in love with Mississippi. When she was called back to Springfield, Illinois in the early 1980s to serve on the General Council of the Dominican Sister’s Leadership Team, she says she knew even before she packed her bags that she would be forever trying to figure out how to get back to Jackson.

Even so, it came as a surprise to her when Sister Josephine Therese, who had headed the St. Dominic Health Services, began to plan her retirement and the board invited Sister Dorothea to take her place.

“Oh, my,” she said. “This will take fasting and prayer.” In Sister Dorothea’s mind, the job was bigger than her talents. But there was that nudge…the God nudge…and again she reasoned that to say no would be selfish and would violate her vow of obedience. Her journey had taught her time and time again that if God called her to it, He was more than able to get her through it. So, it was back to school for a second Masters in Health Care Administration.

A Tireless Leader

At long last, Sister Dorothea returned to Jackson in 1995 when she took the reins as President and Chairman of the Board to head the ever expanding vision of the St. Dominic Health Services, Inc. which, by this time was composed of seven subsidiaries.

In her fourteenth year, she is as thrilled to be there as she was on her very first day. Steve Bomgardner, Vice President over Patient Care has worked twenty years in some form of health care administrated by the Dominican Order. He speaks with great affection calling Sister Dorothea “a tireless leader and an eloquent symbol of the Dominican Sisters and their mission of healing. There is not a false bone in her body. What you see is what you get with Sister.” Con Maloney, St. Dominic Hospital Board member, agrees wholeheartedly. He has served on many community and non-profit boards, but he says the unique thing about this one is Sister herself. ”She lets board members participate, but she also knows when to cut them off. Board members appreciate her straightforward approach. She practices what she preaches, and it is because of her and the people she has working with her that St. Dominic is what it is.”

Spiritual Influence

The orange barrels in the entrances on each side of Lakeland Drive indicate that the twenty three acre campus is in a constant state of growth and improvement. Sister’s fund-raising capabilities are obvious. (Who would ever believe that Sister Dorothea was classified “introvert” on the Myers Briggs Personality Profile!) But Sister derives her greatest job satisfaction not in building projects but in “seeing the spiritual growth of our employees—how they grow in their relationship with Christ while they are here.”

Walking the bustling halls of the hospital with Sister Dorothea on a recent afternoon, we passed many uniformed employees and staff members. Faces light up at the sight of her and she always returns a greeting and usually calling a name at the same time.

Lacey Steward, Nurse Manager of Oncology, sensed a special atmosphere in the hospital at her first job interview. “It was one reason I wanted to come here to work. She inspires us to do our best, to see ourselves as part of the serving mission of this hospital, and to be like her—wanting to please God in everything we do.”

Sharon Mavridoglou, St. Dominic’s nurse manager of labor and delivery explains the spirit of family that exists in the hospital is a result of what they call their Triple “E” System—Exceptional Encounter Every time. Staff and employees are trained from their first day to make it a goal to see that whether they are dealing with each other , their patients or a visitor in the hall, there is a warm exchange and a sense of human interaction. And nobody does Triple “E” quite like Sister Dorothea.

Sister is always out and about in the hospital, visiting staff and nurses or checking on patients. Sharon tells me that when the obstetrics unit reopened for the first time in 27 years, Sister had a violinist from the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra come to serenade the hospital’s first new mom!

A Living Legacy

Many a night or in the middle of a busy meeting-filled day, Sister gets a call that a patient is nearing their final hours and a family has asked her to come to be with them. She considers that one of the greatest privileges of her calling. Despite the busy-ness of her business, her priorities remain clear—God and others. She says life just seems to fall into place “when you do the right things for the right reasons.”

Right things and right reasons are never too tough for Sister to discern. She goes back to her verse in Micah. It keeps her life uncluttered and focused no matter how many tasks she says, “YES” to. She handles her part and trusts God to cover everything else.

I asked her about her legacy. How will she want to be remembered some day? That was a very difficult question for someone who spends very little time thinking about herself at all. She thought seriously for a few minutes. Her answer came as no surprise. She would hope others would speak fondly of her saying “She loved life. She loved life to the fullest. She loved God and she loved people.”

I am certain that she is already living that legacy...