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Mary Nelle Gage SL

Mary Nelle was raised in Texas and graduated from Loretto Heights College ('66) where she met the Sisters of Loretto. After entering Loretto in 1967, she taught English, speech and drama at St. Mary's Academy and Machebeuf High School. Mary Nelle joined Sister Susan Carol McDonald in Saigon, Vietnam, to care for orphans and to assist with their adoption. For 20 years she resettled refugees for several church agencies. For 30 years she has done customer service at American Airlines and does occasional marketing for EarthLinks. She is involved in the preservation and re-development of the LHC (Loretto Heights College) campus.
Home » Archives for Mary Nelle Gage SL

New ‘Pan Hall’ residents share their favorite Loretto connections

By Mary Nelle Gage SL / January 22, 2024 /
An historic, large brick building is profiled against the evening sky, lights twinkling brightly.

The Sisters of Loretto founded Loretto Heights College (LHC) in 1891 in Denver. As Loretto Heights College expanded, Pancratia Hall was built in 1930 by renowned Denver architect Henry Edbrooke…

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Loretto Heights College reunion a grand affair

By Mary Nelle Gage SL / September 1, 2023 /
Six women standing and smiling together for a group picture outdoors on a sunny day in front o a green grass field and a dark green lamp post. They are all wearing nice dress clothing, and two women are wearing matching green lanyards with a white card on the end.

The Loretto Heights College all-class reunion was held July 14-15 in Denver, organized by the Spirit of Loretto Committee comprised of LHC alumni from numerous years. The first day on…

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St. Mary’s and Loretto Heights Sisters Moved to Mt. Olivet Cemetery

By Mary Nelle Gage SL / October 1, 2022 /
“Operation Sacred Rescue”-The Exhumation Process

M. Josefina Ortiz (1861-1896) was the first sister to be buried in the Loretto Heights Convent Cemetery, in Feb. 1896. Rita Therese DuBor (1909-1969) was the last to be buried,…

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St. Mary’s and Loretto Heights Sisters Moved to Mt. Olivet Cemetery

By Mary Nelle Gage SL / October 1, 2022 /
Six people sitting and working to dig a wide hole outside while one person supervises to the right, and a yellow front loader in the back.

M. Josefina Ortiz (1861-1896) was the first sister to be buried in the Loretto Heights Convent Cemetery, in Feb. 1896. Rita Therese DuBor (1909-1969) was the last to be buried,…

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Loretto Heights provides affordable housing

By Mary Nelle Gage SL / July 12, 2022 /

Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end. Lucius Annaeus Seneca Pancratia Hall has been carefully restored and renovated into affordable housing apartments including a number of three and…

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Standing on the Shoulders of the Ones Who Came Before Us

By Mary Nelle Gage SL / June 1, 2022 /
7 men and women, gathered for prayer, in the autumn.

On April 25 we gathered in the Loretto Heights cemetery in Denver to celebrate Loretto’s Foundation Day and honor “the ones who came before us.” Attendees included several sisters of…

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Standing on the Shoulders of the Ones Who Came Before Us

By Mary Nelle Gage SL / May 24, 2022 /
A group of people holding flowers gather outside in prayer on a spring evening.

On April 25 we gathered in the Loretto Heights cemetery in Denver to celebrate Loretto’s Foundatio Day and honor “the ones who came before us.” Attendees included several sisters of…

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On the ground as the North Vietnamese army advanced

By Mary Nelle Gage SL / December 7, 2021 /
A young boy sits on the knee of a smiling woman.

Aiding orphans in Vietnam wasn’t new to Ruth Routten CoL, an American Airlines flight attendant who, on her days off, had escorted children from Vietnam to adoptive families starting in…

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Vietnam: answering the call

By Mary Nelle Gage SL / December 7, 2021 /
Three women, one holding a baby stand in a doorway in this black and white archival photo.

‘Get your passport, get your shots; I need help.’ Susan Carol McDonald SL to Mary Nelle Gage SL in June 1973 The Vietnam War gave rise to thousands of orphans.…

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Love and Joy of Osceola House Live On

By Mary Nelle Gage SL / December 1, 2021 /
Osceola House, a beige brick, one-story with dark red window awnings and a brown shingle roof with a green grass lawn, concrete driveway, and large green bushes.

Bidding farewell to a home, to a house of hospitality, where the companionship, the conversation and the cuisine have been delightful is hauntingly hard. Loretto’s paving the way for a…

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EarthLinks: 25 years bringing healing beauty of nature to homeless individuals

By Mary Nelle Gage SL / July 15, 2021 /
A person in full beekeeping protective gear holds up a fresh comb of honey.

EarthLinks … creates Earth-centered programming for people experiencing homelessness and economic poverty. EarthLinks program participants are given a safe, peaceful space to foster empowerment resilience, and collectivity while also sustaining…

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Foundation Day at Loretto Heights

By Mary Nelle Gage SL / June 1, 2021 /
Fifteen people gathered at an outdoor cemetery with flowers smiling together for a picture on a sunny day in front of a large white crucifix statue.

To honor Foundation Day (April 25, 1812) in Denver, sisters, co-members, Spirit of Loretto Committee members, alums, neighbors from north of the cem- etery and Denver City Councilman Kevin Flynn…

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