The daughter of Lawrence and Appolonia Rhodes Speak, Mary Joseph was born Dec. 11, 1906, in Irvington, Ky. She received her elementary and secondary education at St. Romuald School in Hardinsburg. Mary Joseph graduated from there in 1925, and nearly two years later she entered the novitiate at Mount Saint Joseph. On August 15, 1927, Mary Joseph received the Ursuline habit and the name Sister Joseph Lawrence.
Sister Joseph Lawrence was prepared for the teaching apostolate and her first assignment was St. Anthony School in Browns Valley, Ky. This assignment was followed by a 10-year mission at St. Charles School High in Lebanon, Ky., and a five-year mission at Holy Trinity High School in Fredericktown, Ky. Sister Joseph Lawrence was appointed director of education for the Mount Saint Joseph Ursuline community in 1945. She held that for 17 years. In preparation for this work and to sharpen her skills, she attended numerous institutions of higher learning: i.e., Xavier University, Cincinnati; Loyola University, Chicago; Nazareth College, Louisville; and Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C.
Sister Joseph Lawrence was diagnosed with cancer and underwent surgery and X-ray therapy in 1951 and in 1956. She continued her work following these treatments. She was hospitalized in 1961 for additional X-ray therapy. She resumed working but her condition deteriorated rapidly. By February 1962, and she was no longer able to continue in her position. She was hospitalized for a month. She returned to the infirmary where she remained until her death on October 14, 1962.
Two days later, Msgr. Albert Thompson, chaplain, celebrated the funeral Mass. Sister Joseph Lawrence’s remains are buried in the convent cemetery. Among her survivors was her Ursuline sister, Sister Agnes Cecilia.