Sr. Mary Audrey, Romaine Pawlak of Bay City, 91, religious for 73 years, entered eternal life July 4 in St. Joseph Care Center, Livonia.

Born May 27, 1922, and baptized at St. Stanislaus Church, Bay City, Romaine was the second of five children of Walter and Veronica (Permoda) Pawlak. She attended St. Stanislaus and Lincoln grade schools in Bay City, the Seminary of the Felician Sisters in Detroit, and entered the Congregation of Felician Sisters in 1940, receiving the name Sr. Mary Audrey. First Profession of vows was in 1942 and final profession in 1948.

Sr. Pawlak earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Madonna College (University) and a Master of Arts degree from the University of Detroit. Principal for 15 of 50 years in the ministry of teaching, Sr. Pawlak taught in the following schools in Michigan and Indiana: St. Stanislaus, Resurrection, Sacred Heart, St. John Cantius, and St. Valentine — all in Detroit; St. Adalbert, South Bend, Ind.; St. Genevieve, Livonia; St. Mary, Alpena; St. Michael, Port Austin; St. Mary’s, Bronson; St. Mel, Dearborn Heights; St. Stanislaus, Dorr; Our Lady of the Rosary, Saginaw; St. Cecilia, Clare; St. Hyacinth, Bay City; St. Valentine, Kawkawlin; St. Stephen, New Boston; and St. Therese, Wayland.

From 1993-95, she was assigned as director of Presentation Prayer Center in Jackson, and for the next 17 years assumed the duties of sacristan of the provincial convent in Livonia.

Gentle, kind, patient, and ever ready to help, the sisters who lived with Sr. Pawlak reaped the benefits of her beautiful qualities. A prayerful religious, with strong spiritual convictions, she drew strength from daily adoration before the Eucharistic Lord.

In May 2012, Sr. Pawlak was permanently transferred to St. Joseph Care Center. Sr. Pawlak is survived by her sister, Dolores Beetham, and nieces and nephews.

On Monday, July 8, 2013, Morning Praise began at 10:30 a.m. The Mass of Christian Burial was July 8, with Fr. Timothy Babcock, chaplain, as celebrant. The service was held in the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Chapel of the Felician Sisters’ Central Convent, Livonia. Burial was in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Southfield.