The daughter of William and Sarah Thompson Mattingly, Mae was born May 15, 1898, in Loretto, Ky., one of 12 children. She went to the public schools in Marion County through grade and high school. In July 1916, Mae entered the novitiate at Mount St. Joseph. She received the Ursuline habit and the name Sister Carmelita on October 24, 1916.
Sister Carmelita’s apostolic life began in Stanley, Ky., teaching grades five and six at St. Peter of Alcantara School for six years. She continued teaching upper grades in Kentucky for 13 years at Curdsville (St. Elizabeth), and Louisville (St. Paul). She became aware of the need for teachers to take care of choir work in schools with no music teacher. She got herself an organ manual, taught herself to play and within two years was able to fill this need wherever she was missioned. In 1935, Sister studied full time at Nazareth College in Louisville. For the next 28 years, Sister taught math and science in the following high schools: Holy Cross, Ky., Glennonville, Mo., Blanco, N.M., Holy Cross, Clementsville, Ky., Knottsville, Ky., Fredericktown, Ky., and Nebraska City, Neb.
In 1964, Sister Carmelita was again missioned to St. William High School in Knottsville. On the morning of December 23, she was the last to leave the convent for the early morning Mass. As she stepped off the sidewalk to cross the highway, a hit-and-run driver struck her. Sister was pronounced dead on arrival at Mercy Hospital in Owensboro.
Msgr. Albert Thompson, chaplain, celebrated the funeral Mass on December 26, 1964. The entire student body from St. William High School in Knottsville attended the funeral services. Sister Carmelita’s remains are buried in the convent cemetery. Among her survivors were her Ursuline sister, Sister Nazaria Mattingly and an Ursuline niece, Sister Mary Elaine Burke.