Mary Ellen Nagle

Sister Mary Ellen Nagle, OSU, 96, died at Rosary Care Center, Sylvania, Ohio, on June 18, 2024. She was an Ursuline Sister for 72 years. Sister Mary Ellen was the daughter of the late Richard and Genevieve Cruse Nagle. Born in Toledo, Ohio, Sister Mary Ellen attended St. Catherine of Sienna Parish Elementary School and St. Ursula Academy. Throughout her long life, Sister Mary Ellen held a passion for music and teaching. Inspired by Ursuline teachers since grade school to achieve higher goals in musicianship, Sister Mary Ellen earned a Bachelor of Music degree from Mary Manse College in 1950. She entered the Ursuline Convent of the Sacred Heart in 1952 and soon began teaching private piano lessons in elementary schools largely taught by Ursuline Sisters. Sister Mary Ellen then earned a Master of Music degree from the University of Michigan in 1964, and at the same time eagerly read the Second Vatican Council's documents on the Church, especially those on the Liturgy and the renewal of Consecrated Life which the Ursuline Convent provided for the Sisters. While pursuing a doctorate degree in Musicology (scholarly research in music), Sister Mary Ellen received National Endowment for the Humanities grants to The Catholic University of American in Washington, D.C. and Yale University. Her dissertation was entitled, "The Structural Role of the Cantus Firmus in the Motets of Jacob Obrecht." Sister Mary Ellen earned a Doctorate of Philosophy in Musicology degree in 1972 from the University of Michigan. Sister Mary Ellen returned to Mary Manse College where she taught music classes along with other interdisciplinary courses. Following the closure of Mary Manse College in 1975, she taught at Bowling Green State University, and then moved to the Twin Cities of Minnesota to teach at the University of Minnesota and The College of St. Catherine in St. Paul. Scholarly in nature, Sister Mary Ellen enjoyed studying the Ursuline order and the life of its foundress, St. Angela Merici, attending theological lectures, and engaging in thought-provoking conversations. Sister Mary Ellen was preceded in death by her parents; sisters Suzanne Silka, Genevieve Zalecki and Patricia Hastings. She is survived by brother Richard Nagle, 17 nieces and nephews, and her Sisters and Associates of the Ursuline Community. Visitation will be held on Monday, July 1 beginning at 9:00 a.m. at Ursuline Center, 4035 Indian Road, Toledo, Ohio, with a Mass of Resurrection beginning at 10:30 a.m. Interment will follow at Resurrection Cemetery. Memorials may be made to the Ursuline Convent, 4045 Indian Road, Toledo, Ohio 43606. Please sign the guest register at CoyleFuneralHome.com. Arrangements are by Coyle Funeral Home.

Mary Ellen Nagle

April 25, 1928 - June 18, 2024