Born Sept. 30, 1893, in Knottsville, Ky., Monica Anna, the daughter of William and Mary Elizabeth Martin Payne, was baptized at birth by Mrs. James Higdon. She was baptized later by Father Louis Hilary Spalding, pastor of St. William Church. Monica’s formal education began at Snowball School in Whalen. She attended school at St. Claire Academy in Clinton, Iowa, and later enrolled at Mount Saint Joseph Academy. She entered the novitiate and on August 5, 1913, after a postulancy of only nine days, she received the Ursuline habit and became known as Sister Dorothy.
Sister Dorothy began her apostolate of domestic service in September 1914 at St. Michael in Fairfield, Ky. Her next assignments in Kentucky were to Stanley and Holy Cross. She was sent to Wynot, Neb., for a short time. In 1921, Sister Dorothy was sent to Santa Rosa in Blanco, N.M. Two years later, she moved to Farmington and remained there until 1969. The school was small, but the Sisters housed a few boarders in the convent. Sister Dorothy was a real mother to the boarders, especially to her “boys,” the Gomezes and Lybrooks. In 1969, she was called away from her sunny San Juan River to “muddy” Rio Grande River in Albuquerque, to be homemaker for the Sisters teaching at St. Charles School. Sister Dorothy returned to Farmington for the last four years of her New Mexico life. She spent that time renewing contact with the Franciscan priests with whom she had ministered for so long, meeting old friends, visiting with the children on the playground, and best of all, making a happy home for the Sisters. The legacy of Sister Dorothy’s missionary spirit, her striking holiness, her simplicity and hospitality forever adds to the enchantment of southwestern New Mexico.
In 1979, after 58 years in the land of sunshine and adobe, Sister Dorothy retired to Mount Saint Joseph where she spent her days praying, visiting the sick, and astounding everyone by the stories recounting her missionary life in New Mexico. She daily visited Sister Ignatius, her sister, who was also living in the infirmary. Death came to Sister Dorothy on April 20, 1989. Father Anthony Shonis, chaplain, celebrated the funeral Mass. Sister Dorothy’s remains are buried in the convent cemetery. Preceding her in death were her Ursuline sisters, Sister Ignatius and Sister Virginia.