Mary Emily, the youngest of nine children born to Nicholas Leake and Mary Adelaide Boone Whelan of Howardstown, Ky., was born August 16, 1918. She was baptized August 17 at their parish church, St. Ann. She received both her grade school and high school education at St. Ann School, taught by the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph. Following high school graduation in 1937, she enrolled at Mount Saint Joseph Junior College pursuing a teaching degree. She entered the novitiate at Mount Saint Joseph in February 1939 and received the Ursuline habit, August 15, 1939. She retained her baptismal name.
In 1941, with teaching certificate in hand, Sister Mary Emily was missioned to St. Charles Grade School in Marion County, Ky. In 1950, she was assigned to St. Columba School, Louisville, for six years. During this time, she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Nazareth College (Spalding University) in Louisville. She then taught and served as librarian at St. Bernard Academy in Nebraska City, Neb., for two years before beginning full-time study at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., where she earned a master’s degree in library science. She returned to Owensboro, Ky., in 1959 to serve as librarian at Brescia College until 1989. During this time, Sister pursued further study at Columbia University in New York, and Fisk University in Nashville, Tenn. She retired from the library in 1989 and became the administrative assistant in the Counseling Center at Brescia College. She served in this position until her retirement in 2000.
Sister Mary Emily came to the Motherhouse after her retirement from Brescia. She had suffered a heart attack in 1997 and her health continued to deteriorate. She was diagnosed with interstitial lung disease in 2000. She resided in Saint Joseph Villa and with constant use of oxygen continued to be actively involved in day-to-day hospitality: operating the switchboard, distributing mail, visiting the sick and welcoming guests — always a gentle presence who brought a sense of well-being to those around her. After returning from a brief hospitalization in Owensboro, she died of congestive heart failure in Saint Joseph Villa, Saturday, August 26, 2006. Visitation was held on August 29, in the convent chapel. Father Leonard Alvey, Father Joseph Mills, Father David Glockner, GHMS and Father Thomas Kirkendoll, GHMS celebrated the funeral Mass on Wednesday, August 30, 2006. Many nieces and nephews and their families attended the funeral rites. Sister’s five brothers and three sisters, including Sister Dorothy Ann OSU, preceded her in death. Sister’s remains are buried in the convent cemetery. Her nephews served as pallbearers.