Mary Josephine, the daughter of Henry and Rosa Poat Younker, was born November 12, 1900, in St. John, Ky. Her father died when she was a year old and before the birth of her sister, Margaret. When Father Charles Haeseley, her mother’s uncle, became pastor at St. Jerome in Fancy Farm, Ky., he invited Rosa Younker with her two daughters to be his housekeeper. As a result, Mary Josephine grew up in the rectory and at an early age, she learned to do many things around the house and garden. She attended St. Jerome Elementary School and continued there through high school graduation. At 10 years of age, she began studying music. While still in high school, she was playing the church organ for the parish choir. She entered the novitiate at Mount Saint Joseph. On March 19, 1919, she received the Ursuline habit and the name Sister Marguerite.
Sister Marguerite’s teaching apostolate began at St. Catherine, New Haven, Ky. She then went to Wynot, Neb., and to St. Joseph, Owensboro, Ky. She began study at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., in 1925. Having earned her first degree in music, she returned to Mount Saint Joseph Junior College and Academy where she remained until 1943. During this time she earned a master’s degree from the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago. She spent one year at St. Columba in Louisville, and four years at St. Charles High School, Marion County, Ky. She returned to Mount Saint Joseph in 1948 where she remained until 1951. When the Junior College moved to Owensboro, Sister spent the next 30 years as Chair of the Music Department at Brescia College. Her students ranged from 7 to 70 years, from church organists to professionals, and from general classes to music majors. Sister Marguerite is one of the founders of the Owensboro Symphony Orchestra. Sister was a tiny woman, but widely remembered as a charismatic teacher, a distinguished musician and an influential champion of the arts.
When illness struck in the fall of 1980, Sister Marguerite retired to Mount Saint Joseph and resided in the infirmary until her death on April 4, 1981. Following the wake service and Mass at Brescia College Chapel, her remains were brought to Mount Saint Joseph where Father Stephen Pirtle and nine other priests concelebrated the funeral Mass on April 7. Sister Marguerite’s remains rest in the convent cemetery.