Sister Paulette Shaw
Sister Paulette Shaw CSA, baptized Marilyn Ann, died on September 3, 2025, at Nazareth Center, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.
Marilyn was born July 27, 1935, in Columbus, Ohio, the second of thirteen children of Herschael Armstead and Mildred G. Lordier Shaw. Marilyn grew up with her six brothers and six sisters in Muncie, Indiana, and attended St. Lawrence Elementary School staffed by the Sisters of St. Agnes. Beginning in sixth grade, she felt a strong yearning to serve God and God’s people. She researched several congregations of women religious as her desire to be a sister became stronger. After her high school graduation in 1953, she chose to enter St. Agnes Convent. She made her first profession of vows in the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes as Sister Paulette on August 15, 1956, in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.
Although Sister Paulette began taking courses in education and natural studies at Marian College, she was soon asked by CSA to pursue a nursing program instead. She considered this request a true blessing which allowed her to work with adults throughout her life: doctors, nurses, and patients. Sister received her nursing diploma from St. Agnes School of Nursing in 1959. She went on to complete her BS in Nursing Education and Health Sciences from Marian College in 1966, opening the way for her to serve both as a nurse and a nursing instructor in many settings throughout her years in active ministry.
While a student nurse, Sister Paulette worked at St. Agnes Hospital, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin (1956-1960). She then served as a pediatric head nurse and nursing supervisor at St. Clare Hospital, Monroe, Wisconsin (1960-1965). During her initial years of nursing, she volunteered to serve in the foreign missions of the congregation. Thinking she would not be chosen, she found fulfillment and joy serving at St. Clare Hospital in her various roles. Her request to serve in CSA’s foreign missions was granted in 1965 when she was assigned with three other nurses to Quito Ecuador. Sister prepared for her new ministry by enrolling in language and cultural classes at the Intercultural Institute at the Catholic University in Ponce, Puerto Rico, followed by working for seven months at the Clínica Santa Inés in Waspam, Nicaragua.
Beginning in 1966, Sister lovingly served the people of Ecuador for six years in several roles: a nurse in rural clinics, a director of nursing for a Catholic hospital, a nursing consultant for the World Health Organization, and an instructor of nurses, aides, and medical technicians. She also was regularly invited to participate in the Bishops’ Conference of Ecuador and to interact with priests, religious, and laity from all parts of Latin America studying at the Instituto Pastoral de América Latina. Sister also served on several national and diocesan committees studying and implementing ways of evangelizing in a country with all its variations of climate and hundreds of ethnic groups.
Suffering from altitude sickness, Sister returned to the United States in 1972 to live and minister with her CSA Sisters in Arizona. She worked among the poor and vulnerable as a hospital nurse and as an outreach coordinator for the elderly. Beginning in 1976, she became a pastoral minister at St. Augustine Cathedral Parish in Tucson where she engaged in community organizing and in a variety of parish and outreach roles for twenty-eight years. After retiring from full-time ministry, Sister
remained in Tucson and was active in volunteer ministries. She returned to Fond du Lac in 2015 to join her CSA sisters at Nazareth Court & Center while receiving loving care until the time of her death. Her yearnings from childhood to serve God and those in need were fulfilled through her missionary heart shared in a life of devoted service.
Sister Paulette was preceded in death by her parents; her brother James; her sisters Eva Mae Hunter, Nancy Doerner, and Virginia McGahey.
She is survived by her brothers Tony, Joseph, Mike (Marirose), Richard, and Phillip (Marla); her sisters Janice (Gary) Good, Dolores Shaw, and Paulette (James) Anderson; her sister-in-law, Diana Shaw; her nieces and nephews and their families, and the Sisters of St. Agnes with whom she lived, prayed, and ministered.
All services for Sister Paulette will be held on Thursday, September 11, 2025.
Visitation will be from 9:00 – 11:00 a.m. and 12:00 – 1:30 p.m. at Nazareth Court and Center, 375 Gillett Street, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.
A Prayer Service will be held at 11:00 a.m. in Nazareth Center Chapel.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered for Sister Paulette at 2:00 p.m. at St. Francis Home Chapel, 33 Everett Street, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, with Father Tom Zelinski presiding. Burial will follow at St. Joseph Springs Cemetery, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.
Memorials may be directed to the CSA Mission Advancement Office, 320 County Road K, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin 54937.
The Sisters of St. Agnes and the Shaw family are grateful to the nurses and staff of Nazareth Court and Center and Hospice Hope for their care of Sister Paulette.
Zacherl Funeral Home is serving the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes.