Sister Mary Sebastian Geary

December 13, 2021

Sr. Mary Sebastian Geary, of Virginia Dale, CO, entered eternal life December 13th, 2021 after a brief illness. Mary Sandoval was born on the Fourth of July, 1933 in Whiting, Indiana to Sebastian and Michaela Sandoval. Her family struggled with great poverty—her favorite (true) story was to recount how she and her siblings were born and raised in a box car!—but these early trials only seemed to foster great pluck and resilience in her. She married her high school sweetheart, Morris Dean Geary, shortly after graduation. They lived a happy family life, becoming the parents of 6 children. Mary was a cornerstone in her neighborhood and also an active member of her church. She jumped into all life’s challenges with courage and enthusiasm. She found time to foster her love of singing as a member of the Sweet Adeline’s singing group. She loved riding her bike and garage sale hopping. Equally important was her love of running, even participating in marathons! And she loved jazzercise as well! After her husband's death, Mary discerned a call to the monastic life. After initially exploring another community, she entered the Benedictine monastery of the Abbey of St. Walburga in 1992, taking the religious name Sister Mary Sebastian, in honor of her father. She made her solemn profession of vows on June 14th, 1996. Sister put all her energy into her new way of life, helping out in any way she could. She cooked delicious foods (especially her wonderful tortillas), sewed and repaired habits, helped to care for the elderly sisters, kept the Abbey squeaky-clean, and tended her beloved chickens. Her joy, laughter, and childlike wonder were contagious. She loved to participate in community skits, and sometimes she just had to get up and dance when the sisters would sing together (age did not stop her!). She often liked to share a joke or touching story aloud for all to enjoy. Sr. Mary Sebastian had a very tender heart and prayed earnestly for her family, loved ones, and the many who ask for our prayers, often recalling various prayer intentions with tears. God had first place in her life. She gave a beautiful example of the joy and fulfillment of monastic life, the memory of which will be cherished by her community for generations. All who knew her were blessed by the gift she always was! Mother Maria Michael and the community extend a special thank-you to her children for sharing their mother with us. It was not always an easy thing for them, but by accepting this second vocation of hers they helped her become a mother to many, many souls through her prayers, under the mantle of her beloved Our Lady of Guadalupe! She was the loving mother to her 6 children: daughter, Susan Vandersteen; son, Michael (Allyson) Geary; daughter, Laura Jean Geary; son, Steven A. Geary; and son, Benjamin A. Geary; as well as her son, Mark A. Geary, who had gone before her. She is survived by her brother, Jess (Velma) Sandoval, as well as her gandson, Eric (Nancee) Havill, granddaughters Lauren Vandersteen (Michael Reed) and Kristen (Marcus) O’Reilly, granddaughter Mary Rayburn, grandson Zachary (Samantha) Geary as well as numerous great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews. When she died she was eager to see the Lord, whom she had given all her life to, and be reunited with her husband, Morris Dean Geary; brothers Frank, John, and Peter Sandoval and sister Yolanda Sandoval; and the nuns of the Abbey of St. Walburga who had preceded her in death.