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Sister Fabian Garrett, OSB papers

 Collection
Identifier: OSBCHI-D-GARRFABI

Scope and Contents

This collection contains general biographical information as well as personal papers. Biographical information includes ministry lists, jubilee and funeral materials, diplomas, a note on her birth from the Kansas State Historical Society, nearest of kin information, photographs, teaching certifications, prayer cards (one of which is autographed by her grandmother) and more.

Personal papers reflect Sister Fabian's 25 years of service as an educator, her work as an "emergency" administrator at the Saint Joseph Convent community in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and her various other ministries and roles in community. Sister's leadership style is reflected in her reflections on Tulsa, as well as in her correspondence.

Dates

  • Creation: circa 1914-2005

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Sisters' papers are restricted for 50 years after the Sister's death. Photographs, previously published, and widely distributed materials are unrestricted.

Biographical / Historical

Sister Fabian Garrett, OSB was born Josephine Mary on January 6th, 1914 in Osborne, Kansas to a farming family. She entered the community on September 7th, 1932, making her final profession on August 16th, 1937.

Sister Fabian earned degrees from Saint John University in Collegeville, Minnesota, Loyola and DePaul Universities in Chicago, and the Mind Control Institute in Texas. She taught in several schools in Illinois and Colorado, serving as principal at Saint Scholastica High School Chicago for seven years, and at Saint Scholastica Academy in Canon City, Colorado for eight years. She also served as an administrator to the Benedictine community at Saint Joseph Convent in Tulsa, Oklahoma from 1967-1969, appointed personally by the Holy See.

After her retirement from teaching, Sister managed the maintenance of the buildings and grounds of the Chicago monastery, notably investing in a variety of dwarf fruit trees. Sister also aided in a community program to sponsor Vietnamese refugee families in Chicago. Her nickname was Sister Fabulous, used affectionately by helpers around the monastery.

Sister Fabian died on March 5th, 2005, and is buried at the All Saints Cemetery in Illinois.

Extent

.26 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Metadata Rights Declarations

  • License: This record is made available under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International Creative Commons license.

Related Materials

See Oversize GARRFABI.OM folder 12 for Mind Control Institute Degree, Saint Scholastica Academy Canon City school papers for materials on her work and correspondence as a principal, and Record Group A 602.3.1 for a maintenance notebook and notes she made as building and grounds manager.

Title
A Guide to Sister Fabian Garrett, OSB papers
Author
Clara Finkelstein
Date
2025-10-08
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Benedictine Sisters of Chicago Archives Repository

Contact:
Archives
Benedictine Sisters of Chicago
7430 N. Ridge Blvd.
Chicago Illinois 60645 United States
(773) 764-2413 ext. 203