Magdalena was born April 30, 1886, in Reed, Ky., one of seven children born to Felix and Harriet Mitchell Dunbar. The family belonged to St. Augustine Parish. Her mother died while Magdalena was still quite young, and her father remarried. Ten children were born of this marriage. Magdalena, an apt and gifted student, attended public school in Reed.
At the age of 19, she entered the novitiate at Mount Saint Joseph. On June 3, 1906, Magdalena received the Ursuline habit and the name Sister Mary Pia. She was soon called Sister Pius, even in official papers. Sister Pius’ great loves were silence and devotion to the Blessed Sacrament.
Sister Pius made perpetual profession of vows in 1908, and continued serving at Mount Saint Joseph in domestic work. She and two other Sisters left the Motherhouse for missionary work in the public school system of Marion County, Ky., when St. Francis of Assisi School opened in Chicago, Ky., in 1912. She delighted in keeping the house neat and clean, preparing meals, devoting her free time to prayer and making the convent a happy home. She continued these same works in St. Columba Convent in Louisville, and in the convent at Fairfield, Ky. Sister Pius returned to Mount Saint Joseph Academy in 1917 and served as seamstress in the dormitories.
Early in January 1921, she developed sinusitis and did not respond to extensive treatments or surgery. She died on February 17, 1921. Father James L. Whelan, chaplain, celebrated the funeral Mass. Sister Pius’ remains are buried in the convent cemetery.