In Memoriam: Sister Mary Clemente Davlin (1926–2017)

Abstract

Sister Mary Clemente Davlin, baptized Marguerite and known as Marge to her relatives and friends, was born in Chicago on March 6, 1929. After years of school in the Dominican tradition, Sister Clemente completed her undergraduate degree at Rosary College (now Dominican University). In the fall of 1954, Marge Davlin entered the Sinsinawa Dominicans and was professed as Sister Mary Clemente in 1956. After teaching high school for a few years, she was led to another calling, an academic one, and began her graduate studies at Berkeley with one of the great medieval scholars of our generation, Charles Muscatine. She wrote two scholarly works on Piers Plowman which were critically acclaimed, and her last book, entitled A Journey into Love: Meditating with Piers Plowman, opened the rich spiritual insights of that poem to a wider audience.1 She authored numerous articles and was the recipient of a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship, as well as the Newberry Library-British Academy fellowship for her scholarly research.In 1970, Sister Clemente joined the faculty of Dominican University as a Professor of English and also joined the Oak Park-River Forest Symphony, a post she held with the second violin section for over forty years. During her years at Dominican University, Sister Clem was renowned as a great teacher as well as a dedicated scholar. She was the recipient of two Excellence in Teaching Awards, and she received Dominican University's highest alumnae honor, the Caritas Veritas Award. To recognize her tireless efforts at building a diverse and inclusive community, Dominican University established the Sister Mary Clemente Davlin Diversity Leadership Award. There is also the Waters, Davlin, Crapo “Sisters” scholarship dedicated to African American students with financial difficulties and supported entirely by donations from those who have been impacted by the sisters.In her retirement Sister Clemente not only continued her research and writing, but she also volunteered as a tutor at Malcolm X College in Chicago. A scholar and a teacher to the last, she was working on a Piers Plowman article at the time of her death and was awaiting the next issue of The Chaucer Review, where her work on the scope of Charles Muscatine's critical influence is published.2Of course, these details demonstrate the milestones of a life rich in merit and academic success, but for those of us who were privileged to know her, it was the generosity of her spirit, the gentleness of her ways, and the truth of her calling that inspired us each and every day. Her truth lives on in the heart of the Dominican community that benefited so greatly from her love and mentorship, but nothing can replace her joyful spirit.She is deeply missed.