Sister Mark Friday, SCL

9 November 1933 – 27 November 2021

Victoria M. Friday was born on Nov. 9, 1933, in Kansas City, Kan., the oldest of five children of Victor and Gladys (O’Such) Friday. She graduated from St. Stephen’s Academy (grade school) and St. Aloysius Academy (middle and high school) in Kansas City, Mo. At St. Stephen’s, she was first introduced to SCL Sisters, who had a deep influence on her life.

She entered the SCL Community on Aug. 21, 1952, and professed vows as Sister Mark Friday on Aug. 22, 1954. In 1965, she received a B.S. degree in education from Saint Mary College.

Sister Mark devoted her life to Catholic education. She served as a teacher and administrator for 48 years in schools in Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri.

Sister Mark’s ability to respond in the midst of crisis was tested outside the classroom too. On June 8, 1966, a devastating tornado landed near Sacred Heart School in Topeka, Kan., where Sister Mark served. She scrambled from the school’s basement, still shaking off broken glass, to help survivors. The storm, which demolished many neighborhood homes, left debris everywhere. For the next twelve days, area residents recalled the sight of a nun in a blue-checkered apron and mud-caked tennis shoes going from family to family to provide assistance and help direct relief efforts. Besides working with the Red Cross, Sister Mark recruited local teenagers, armed with shovels and other tools, to help families recover needed lost items. Her self-sacrifice, charity, and caring spirit made her a neighborhood legend.

Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated in Ross Chapel at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 10 at Ross Chapel, SCL Mother House, Leavenworth, Kansas. Interment followed in Mount Olivet Cemetery, Mother House grounds.