(Sister Valerie)
Sister Maryann Benoit was one of two last Sisters of Providence to leave ministry in Montana since the sisters first arrived there in 1864. Born in Yakima, Wash., she was influenced by the Sisters of Providence who taught her in all twelve grades at St. Joseph
Academy, and entered the religious community in 1940. She taught third graders at Sacred Heart School, Tacoma, Wash., and later students at St. Catherine School, Seattle; Central Catholic High School, Great Falls, Mont.; and boarders at Providence Academy in Vancouver, Wash. For 19 years she was an English professor at the College of Great Falls and was invited to teach English twice in Japan, as well as to advise Japanese students at the college. After her retirement, Sister Maryann and her housemate Sister Ann Dolores Ybarrola remained in Great Falls, assisting people who needed but could not afford assistance with writing applications and essays, editing and occasional translating. They also offered language services at St. Peter and Paul Parish. They moved to St. Joseph Residence, Seattle, in 2013.
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