Kathryn McSorley was on retreat at the Dominican Retreat Center in Albuquerque, N.M., in 1999, when one of the other participants – Ursuline Sister Sheila Anne Smith – excitedly approached her after learning she was a park ranger.

“She said she had considered becoming a park ranger if she hadn’t become a Sister,” McSorley said. “I said that I had considered becoming a nun when I was young. I even played the Mother Abbess in ‘The Sound of Music’ when I was in the eighth grade.”

That moment began a 26-year friendship between the two women that culminated on July 5, 2025, when Sister Sheila Anne went to heaven.

McSorley was working in Grants, N.M., at the time, and could not attend the funeral. But she vowed to visit her friend one more time once her job ended, and on Nov. 4, she did just that. She took part in a gravesite service for Sister Sheila Anne, while surrounded by several Ursuline Sisters.

“She just knew the meaning of friendship,” McSorley said. “When I complained that I had so many weeds to pull, or a shed to paint, she’d say, ‘What are friends for?’ and come over to help. She did snowshoeing while I cross-country skied. We had lots of meals together and phone calls.”

Sister Sheila Anne joined the Ursuline Sisters in 1962, coming from New Mexico the same year as Sister Michele Morek and the late Sister Sara Marie Gomez. Her ministry was all in the Southwest from 1979 until she came home to the Mount in 2014.

“I would ask her a lot of questions about the faith,” McSorley said. “I learned a lot about the Mount, what life is like as a Sister. She regifted me a lot of angels at Christmas. I know she loved children and tutoring.”

After concluding her park ranger work a month ago, McSorley began her travels. She departed from her home in Albuquerque to visit friends and family in DeKalb and Inverness, Ill., La Crosse, Wisc., and the Mount. She visited the Mount about every two years once Sister Sheila Anne moved back.

Several Sisters and a couple of staff members traveled to the back of the cemetery to gather around Sister Sheila Anne’s grave, read some scripture and sing a hymn that Sister Sheila Anne chose for her funeral, “I Have Loved You.” McSorley sprinkled holy water on her grave.

She said the ceremony felt very special to her.

“I feel very honored,” she said. “To do this again after many of the Sisters were here for the funeral – just because I’m here.”