Mary Alice was born March 20, 1909, the youngest of the 12 children born to John and Caroline Manning Wathen of Morganfield, Ky. Her parents were descendants of pioneer families from Maryland in the late 18th century, who settled in Marion County and migrated to Union County. Mary Alice began her elementary education in the Wathen Public School near her home in Union County. She transferred to St. Ann School in Morganfield. Mary Alice came to Mount Saint Joseph Academy for her secondary education. She entered the novitiate as three of her older sisters had done. On March 19, 1930, Mary Alice received the Ursuline habit and the name Sister Mary Antonia.
Sister Mary Antonia began teaching in 1932 at Holy Cross School in Loretto, Ky. From there, she went to St. Francis, Peonia and Boone Mill in Kentucky. In 1944, she was sent to St. Mary Grade School in Nebraska City, Neb. She returned to Kentucky in 1947 to teach in St. Francis High School. In 1951, she began graduate study at The Catholic University of America, Washington D.C. After completing both master’s and doctoral degrees, she returned to Kentucky in 1954. She served as chair of the history department and as academic dean at Brescia College, the newly opened offspring of Mount Saint Joseph Junior College. She is remembered for her scholarship and gift of administration that guided Brescia College through its beginning years.
Following the Chapter of Elections in 1972, Sister Mary Antonia returned to Mount Saint Joseph and served two four‑year terms as assistant superior. After completing the eight years as assistant superior, she remained at the Motherhouse as community archivist until she retired in 1983. Her physical and mental health gradually deteriorated. On Holy Saturday morning, April 18, 1987, with typical dignity and quiet peace, she left this life to be forever healed in the presence of God. The wake service was conducted on Easter Sunday afternoon in the convent chapel. Father Joseph Mills and Father Leonard Alvey concelebrated the funeral Mass on Easter Monday, followed by the burial service in the convent cemetery. Among her survivors were her three Ursuline sisters, Sisters Aloysius, Caroline, and Jean Marie.