Born October 19, 1883, to Charles and Ellen Carrico Jarboe, Anna lived a happy life with her family at St. Lawrence, Ky. The Jarboe and Carrico families had given many priests and religious to the Catholic Church in Daviess County. When Anna became 19, she entered the novitiate at Mount Saint Joseph. Following a two‑month postulancy, she received the Ursuline habit on October 21, 1902, and became known as Sister Mary Lawrence.
Sister Mary Lawrence spent her entire mission life at the Motherhouse. She directed the preparation of meals, supervised the baking, canning and general house cleaning. Her respect and love for the Sisters and the students added greatly to the spirit of peace of daily life on campus and made Ursuline hospitality evident to families and friends who visited.
In early 1914, Sister Mary Lawrence’s health began to fail, and she was relieved of all duties. Despite consistent medical attention, she continued to decline and was confined to her bed about five months before her death. During these months of intense suffering, she relied on her favorite devotions for comfort — the Mass, Holy Communion and the Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary. On the Feast of Corpus Christi, June 11, 1914, death came to her. Sister Mary Lawrence was the eighth member of the community to die. The Sisters grieved her loss but rejoiced that another Mount Saint Joseph Ursuline enjoyed the rest and peace of eternal life in heaven. Father Damien Leone, chaplain, was at her bedside when she breathed her last. She was 35 years old and had spent almost 12 years as an Ursuline. Following the Requiem Mass, Sister Mary Lawrence’s remains were laid to rest in the convent cemetery.