January 2008: SISTER MARY BETH BUX On September 18, 1947, Mary Elizabeth Bux was born to John F. and Dolores A. (Breidenbach) Bux at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Belleville, IL. God had begun weaving a tapestry for this little girl’s life, and only He knew what the future would hold. Her childhood memories are many, but those related to one person in her family come to the forefront of her mind. “My great grandmother lived at the bottom of our hill in a house by the creek where her husband’s family had lived for two generations before her and her family. My father and brother took care of her coal stove in her later years, which enabled her to continue baking the wonderful cookies we came to enjoy,” Sister Mary Beth said. Her great grandmother was very fond of her home, and even despite times of heavy rains and the creek being flooded, she did not readily leave her home. “When she was in her 90s, she fell, fracturing her hip, and the firemen carried her out and took her to St. Elizabeth’s. She was 95 when she died,” Sister Mary Beth said. Growing up with the Sisters The Notre Dame Sisters were her educators for 15 years in Belleville, and these Sisters “demanded much and also gave much.” Sister Mary Beth recalled how the Sisters always believed that girls as well as boys could excel in learning and, therefore, their students believed it as well. “As a high school student, I loved math and science and entered competitive events in both subjects. That gave me a broad interest in what others of my age were doing in these fields and an inquisitive attitude toward learning. I even studied mice and cared for them as an integral part of a science project,” she said. She worked as a volunteer at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital from the beginning of the 8th grade thru high school and was very involved in her weekends of service and in the volunteer organization itself. She also was a member of the Future Nurses of American at her high school. Eventually in her senior year, she was hired as a weekend employee at St. Elizabeth’s, and her job was a combination of housekeeping and dietary aide in the Nursing Home section of 1st Floor and the Gift Shop. Sister Mechtilde Powers, her boss, entrusted her with seeing “that everything was in order.” That basically meant doing whatever needed to be done, and Sister Mary Beth rose to the challenge. God's plan awaits Toward the end of her junior year in high school, she visited schools of nursing. “I had a persistent nagging within me that this was not the right path and that I should at least try religious life. I finally gave in and found I had much more peace as I began the process of applying to the Hospital Sisters,” she said. She entered the Congregation on September 8, 1965. “I would encourage the person who thinks they are being called to religious life to explore various possibilities for living out their call and, by all means, to visit in person the members of the various groups to see them in action and to experience whether this community resonates with his or her personal call,” she explained. Reflections In her more than 40 years living religious life, she has had many professional and personal experiences which have led her to a deeper realization of her religious call. “It is really like God is weaving the tapestry, and I am too close to see the design on a day-to- day basis. It is only when I stand back from the loom that I have the perspective of a very intricate pattern which is my life,” she said. “I have been privileged to work as a nurse in a variety of settings, educating other nurses, working with persons of all ages, and loving what I do. My work has taken me to many countries where our sisters minister including Japan, Taiwan, Haiti, Tanzania, India, and Germany. For six years now, I will live in Germany as I carry out my responsibilities on the General Council,” she added. Education and Congregational responsibilities Sister Mary Beth earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Marillac College and a master’s degree in nursing from St. Louis University. She also holds certification in Religious Formation and the Institute of Law and Religious Life. Her assignments have included nursing responsibilities at St. Mary’s Hospital (Decatur, IL), Chicago, IL, St. Monica’s Hall (Springfield, IL), St. John’s Hospital (Springfield), and St. Francis Convent (Springfield). She also served five years as an Instructor at St. John’s School of Nursing, Springfield. Her responsibilities at the Motherhouse included service as the Director of Justice Concerns, Director of Vocations and Pre-Novitiate, and Lay Associate Coordinator. She served one term as the Provincial Vicaress and also was elected twice to the Provincial Council. In addition, she served at Hospital Sisters Health System as the Director of Staff Development.

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