+ Sister Ruthann Williams, OP

On Thursday, September 28th, our Sister Ruthann Williams, OP, entered into eternal life. A Dominican Sister of Caldwell, New Jersey, for 42 years, Sister Ruthann earned her bachelor’s degree from Caldwell University, majoring in business. She also received a master’s degree from Drew University in liberal arts and a second master’s degree from the Seton Hall University Seminary in pastoral ministry. 

Upon entering the congregation, Sister Ruthann ministered in advertising and public relations for Caldwell University. She then taught language arts and fine arts at Project Link in Newark. Afterward, she became the administrator of Sacred Heart Ministry in Caldwell. Beginning in 1993, Sister Ruthann served as the director of the Precious Blood Spiritual Center in Columbia, PA. In 1996, she took the position of executive director of the Maryhill Renewal Center in Pineville, Louisiana. Sister then became the program director of Wisdom House in Litchfield, Connecticut until ministering as director of the Spaulding Retreat Center in Bardstown, Kentucky. In 2001, Sister Ruthann served as the communications manager and program director for Sacred Heart Southern Missions in Walls, Mississippi. In her final ministry before retirement, Sister was the director of St. Francis Spiritual Center in Flint, Michigan.

A member of the Dominican Institute of the Arts, Sister Ruthann was an accomplished writer, publishing books on grief and healing. In 2005, she was honored with a bronze medal for her poetry by The Pillars magazine. She frequently had columns published in The Church Today, the newspaper of the Diocese of Alexandria, LA, and in The Daily Town Talk, the secular newspaper of Alexandria. She also published several articles in the Kentucky Standard. 

On Wednesday, October 4, 2023, a wake and funeral Mass will be held at St. Aloysius Church, 219 Bloomfield Avenue, Caldwell, NJ. The wake will be from 9:15–10:00 AM, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 10:00 AM. Graveside services will follow the Mass at Gethsemane Cemetery on the Motherhouse grounds.  

Please keep Sister Ruthann, her family and friends, and her Dominican sisters in your prayers.