Mary Hilary Montgomery was born on January 27, 1923, , to the family of Hilary and Emma May Montgomery in St. Lawrence, Ky. She was the fourth in a family of seven children. Her siblings included Catherine, Virginia, Vincent, Therese, Agnes (who would become Sister Dorothea, RSM) and John.
Mary Hilary was baptized on March 18, 1923, at St. Lawrence Church. She was confirmed on April 28, 1936, at St. William Church, Knottsville, Ky.
When she was 6, she began her education in Skillmon, Ky. She attended this school for three years and then transferred to Thruston Elementary Public School, also in Kentucky. Later she finished her high school years at St. William School, Knottsville.
Later Mary Hilary enrolled at Mount Saint Joseph Junior College for Women to study business, but also went to work in a factory in Evansville, Ind. It was during this time that she was discerning a call to religious life. On September 7, 1943, she entered the postulancy at Mount Saint Joseph. Within a year, on August 14, 1944, Mary Hilary became a novice, taking the name of Sister Marie. On August 15, 1946, two years later, Sister Marie made vows and went right away to her first teaching mission at Seven Holy Founders in Affton, Mo.
Sister Marie was a teacher for 63 years, serving in Missouri, Kentucky and for 38 years in her beloved New Mexico. Her eyes would light up when she talked about her students. After retiring to the Motherhouse in 2007, she helped distribute mail and served as an information receptionist.
Sister Marie Montgomery, 100, died on August 18, 2023, at Mount Saint Joseph in her 79th year of religious life. Her funeral Mass was at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, August 21, 2023, at Mount Saint Joseph. Burial was in the convent cemetery.