A baby girl, named Mary Lucian, was born to Thomas Aubrey and Mary Edna Carrico Carrico on December 8, 1915, in Fancy, Ky. Mary Lou was the oldest of seven children born to Aubrey and Mae, as her mother was called: Ruth, Lenna and Ruddy are deceased. Dot, Anna, and Bob survive.
Mary Lou attended elementary and high school at St. Jerome taught by the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth. When the children had made their first communion, at their mother’s insistence, they went to the 6: 15 Mass every morning at St. Jerome, (within walking distance). They returned home for a hot breakfast before going to school, then attended Mass again as it was part of the daily school schedule. Sister Lennora remembers that they went home for lunch and how she envied those who were not within walking distance of school and brought peanut butter sandwiches that looked so delicious. She remembered that on rainy days her mother would bring the Carrico kids hot soup at lunch time rather than have them walking home in the rain. Somehow, this always seemed to embarrass Mary Lou.
Mary Lou remembers her father as a quiet, retiring person, but certainly a small town politician. When the governor would come to the annual Fancy Farm Political Rally the children were dressed in their finest and stood in line to shake his hand. Her father would be so proud of them. Her father’s words, when they sought permission for something, were always ” Whatever your Mother says.”
After high school it seemed to Mary Lou that her classmates made life decisions so quickly, so easily. It did not happen that way for her. She worked several jobs and never found peace. She finally decided to come to Mount Saint Joseph Junior college, her mother’s alma mater. Her aunt, Sister Lucian Carrico, was an Ursuline; another Aunt, a Franciscan. After completing the first year of college, she knew that she was called to be an Ursuline Sister of Mount Saint Joseph. In January 1938, she became a postulant. August 14, 1938, she received the habit and was given the name Sister Lennora. August 15, 1940, she made temporary vows; August 15, 1943, she made final vows. Following temporary profession, Sister was sent on her very first mission to teach at St. Joseph High School in Owensboro. All of her missions were in Kentucky. Her teaching career took her to St. Bernard High School in Clementsville; St Alphonsus High School; Mount Saint Joseph Academy; St Catherine High School, New Haven; Grayson County High School, Leitchfield; Trinity High School, Whitesville; and the Education Department at Brescia College, Owensboro. She received a master’s degree from Fontbonne College in St. Louis; did further study at Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green; Catholic University, Washington D.C.; Vanderbilt University in Nashville; and Loyola in Chicago.
In 1974, she, along with Sister Margaret Ann Aull, started a new ministry in Peonia, Ky. With the assistance of a Methodist minister they secured a building known as the Senior Center. Sister Lennora eventually became the coordinator for the aging for all of Grayson County. She took a break from that federal position and volunteered at Owensboro Mercy Health System in Owensboro, working with the Hospice program, training participants in trauma associated with death. At times, she spent her summer vacation time teaching religion to prisoners at Eddyville Penitentiary. When she received praise for her unselfish giving of self to others, her usual response was, “We are called to be Hallmark people. We care enough to give our very best.” Just a casual contact with Sister Lennora made one feel important and appreciated and capable of becoming what God intended them to be.
In 1988, Sister Lennora came to the Motherhouse and was active in personal and pastoral care. From 1989 to 2003 she was also the Motherhouse annalist, preserving daily records of happenings for the Archives. She was an avid UK basketball fan, watching or listening to every game throughout the entire season, she knew intricate details about each player, calling them by name as easily as if they were her family. During the years she spent in Saint Joseph Villa, Sister’s gracious manner and genuine interest in the life of those who cared for her brought sunshine and a sense of security throughout the place.
Following the Mass of Resurrection for Sister Lennora on May 8, 2012, her remains were carried to Mount Saint Joseph Cemetery for burial. Her family, many friends and former students, and the Ursuline Sisters accompanied in solemn procession.