Sister Sara (Philip Mary) McAlpin, BVM
Sister Sara (Philip Mary) McAlpin, BVM, 90, of Mount Carmel Bluffs, Dubuque, Iowa, died Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, at MercyOne Dubuque Medical Center.
Visitation, the Sharing of Memories and Mass of Christian Burial were on Friday, Oct. 25, 2024. Burial was in the Mount Carmel cemetery.
Sister Sara was born July 2, 1934, in Charles City, Iowa, to Philip and Mary Alice (Elsen) McAlpin. She entered the BVM congregation on Sept 8. 1956, from Corpus Christi Parish, Fort Dodge, Iowa. She professed first vows on Feb. 3, 1959, and final vows on July 16, 1964.
Sister Sara was an English instructor, English department chair and archivist at Clarke University, Dubuque, Iowa. She also ministered as a secondary teacher at St. Joseph Academy in Des Moines, Iowa, and as an elementary teacher at St. Gertrudes’s in Chicago.
“Sara had two realizations at the time of her Golden Jubilee. ‘One is gratitude for God, family, friends, teachers, natural beauty, lasting relationships, education, mentors, ministry, flowers, books, ice cream, sunrises and sunsets, heroines, travel, health, chocolate, plants, stars, smiles, long walks, lakes and countless other things! The other is knowing that life is a process of losing and gaining (and not just weight!), laughing and crying, growing and diminishing, loving and being loved.’” (Eulogy.)
She was preceded in death by her parents and a brother Rev. James McAlpin. She is survived by cousins and the Sisters of Charity, BVM, with whom she shared life for 68 years.
Memorials may be given to Sisters of Charity, BVM, 1100 Carmel Drive, Dubuque, IA 52003 or online at https://www.bvmsisters.org/support_donate.cfm
Watch Memorial Mass and Sharing of Memories Download Eulogy Download Sharing of Memories (Coming Soon)
I worked with Sister Sara for many years at Clarke. She was a wonderful person, and I appreciated her kind and caring way. She was a great resource for everything Clarke. We often talked about literature and her love of Ruth Suckow. I will definitely miss her.
Sister Sara is greatly missed. She was a warm , caring individual who believed in equity for all. Sister Sara shared her knowledge and perspectives on our issues of today. She will always remain a permanent fixture in building a more inclusive society.
Sara shaped my life in a special, simple way. I did not know what major I should study in college. She encouraged me to choose English literature. This proved to be significant in my
life and I am extraordinarily appreciative.
Sr. Sara was a great instructor. She introduced me to authors who were “missing”, namely women writers. She was bright, funny, and spirited. I was lucky enough to have had contact with her long after graduating. Knowing her gave me insights into the sisterhood, and she shared her private experiences of God. It’s been over 40 years ago, but I consider it a pivotal point in my life. Her humanity touched me and broadened my young lufe.
I loved her broad smile and her impish ways of making me think and reconsider different opinions.
Sister Sara was my teacher at Clarke, my spiritual and professional role model, and beloved friend for sixty years. Without her example I may not have chosen to become a teacher. Sara epitomized everything that I thought a teacher should be, and I wanted to be just like her, but there could be only one that good. Thank you, Sara.
I was privileged to serve with Sister Sara for many years on the DACU board. She was knowledgeable, inspiring, positive, patient, practical, and even comic relief when needed. And her work in DACU was only a small portion of the many ways she impacted the community through the years. May her memory always be for a blessing.
I worked with Sara for many years at Clarke. She was a strong, intelligent, inspiring person, and taught me a great deal. She was fearless when it came to supporting her beliefs and had no problem speaking truth to power. One time, when I was under a great deal of stress, she told me she loved me. Many times, she gave me kind and useful advice. Whenever it really counted, she helped me. I was lucky to get to work with her for all those years. May she rest in peace.
I loved her beautiful smile! I’m so grateful she was one of my literature instructors at Clarke in the 1960’s. Her selection of authors (particularly Southern women) and their works made a lasting impression on me.
During the past several years, she modeled a passion for social justice and peace, humility and kindness, and service. She was a strong, amazing woman.
My sympathy to all who knew and loved her.
I am an English professor at Clarke. Unfortunately, I’ve only been at Clarke for 20 years, so I did not have the privilege of seeing Sara in the English classroom. She was the archivist when I joined the Clarke community. I clearly remember our first meeting. Katie Fischer facilitated it. Katie Fischer had been my AP English teacher at Wahlert high school. And Katie had been a student of Sara’s at Clarke. It only seemed right, then, for the 3 of us to connect within that specific heritage of English teacher and English student. Katie, thank you for introducing me to Sara two decades ago. Those two decades have flown by, but Sara was a constant presence in my life. She shared teaching materials with me. She shared unrivaled conversations with me. She served as a role model in the multitude of ways she served the Dubuque community. She accepted me from the get-go – even though I was raised by the Franciscans across town and at Briar Cliff. Her quick wit, her incisive insightfulness, her depth of intelligence, her compassion, her relationship-building skills, her love – those things all have led me to say consistently for these last 20 years “I want to be Sara McAlpin when I grow up.” Thank you, Sara.