By Mary Owen
Sister Joeine Darrington credits a good attitude and strong genes for her living to be 93 years old.
“And our regular life I have at the convent, with time to pray, time to relax and time to enjoy one another,” said Darrington, the self-professed “convent hugger” at the Benedictine Queen of Angels Monastery in Mt. Angel.
Darrington grew up in the plains of central Montana, just north of Billings. She walked a mile and a half to the one-room schoolhouse where she attended first through sixth grades, and loved reading by the light of a kerosene lamp.
“We traveled 12 miles in a double buggy pulled by two horses to go to church,” she wrote in an essay that was included in the book, The Wisdom of the Elders, honoring the lives of 30 Benedictine sisters and priests earlier in this decade.
Darrington’s family moved to town in 1925 when crop failures, drought, hail and grasshoppers made it impossible to continue living on their farm. Her father worked in a flour mill until he retired many years later.
“I graduated from high school in 1932,” said Darrington, who was her class’ valedictorian. “Since money was an issue, college wasn’t in my plans then. So a friend gave me a railroad ticket and I went to visit my sister who was a nurse at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Portland.”
While in Portland, she learned of the training college in Mt. Angel run by the Benedictine sisters, and a year later, attended. At the annual college retreat in 1934, she was encouraged to consider a religious vocation.
“I felt drawn, but I had no real idea what was involved,” Darrington said. After an interview with the mother superior, she decided to join the sisterhood.
“I remember my mom saying, ‘Well land sakes, Sis, if that’s what you want to do, it’s just fine,’” Darrington said. “I went home for a final visit that summer, and my friends thought I was crazy to be locked up in a ‘nunnery’ the rest of my life. But I don’t remember ever doubting my decision.”
Darrington began her journey on Aug. 10, 1934, took her first vows in February 1937, and her final vows in 1940.
“That was 74 years ago,” she said. “During that time, I’ve seen some wonderful changes.”
Vatican II in the 1960s brought about the most transformation, with stylish suits, skirts and dresses exchanged for the traditional black habits worn by the nuns at that time.
Other freedoms included just signing out to leave the monastery for a day, budgeting personal allowances, accepting outside invitations and having the ability to visit friends and family without a companion.“I call it the time of liberation,” Darrington said.
She also cited many changes that happened to the field of education during her teaching career, which began in 1940 at Mt. Angel Academy.
“I was the principal for the last eight years of my 24 years there,” said Darrington, who holds more than 60 hours of post-doctorate coursework. She is known as much for her intellect at the monastery as for her hugs.
Darrington also taught at North Catholic High School in Portland from 1964 to 1966, Kennedy High School – then affiliated with the Catholics – from 1966 to 1967, at Mt. Angel Academy in the college from 1968 to 1971, and at Molalla Grade School from 1971 to 1982.
“I also taught at Montana State University in Bozeman for the summers of ’71 and ’72,” Darrington said. “When I taught fourth grade at Molalla, I had to work on my vocabulary. Some of those college words were awfully big for fourth graders!”
Of her years in the education field, she added, “It was a wonderful time to be teaching. Every level I taught, each one was filled with great experiences and a lot of enjoyment.” Darrington, who used to travel to assist with rural teachers, hopes that the Benedictine “sense of commitment and dedication” has been a source of inspiration to her students and associates.
Today, Darrington remains active by working at the Benedictine Foundation office, handling phone calls to alumni and donors. She teaches English to a group of Spanish-speaking students at the Mt. Angel Abbey. Monastery life includes prayer five times daily, some housekeeping and other activities.
“When people ask me what I’m doing now, I tell them I’m leisurely busy,” she said. “It’s OK to get old. We have to face our limitations and ask people to respect them. At the same time, I have more time for prayer, scripture and other reading.”
Darrington finds that in growing older, what she once thought important seems a bit trivial.
“People tend to worry about a lot of things that don’t matter down the line,” she said.
In her spare time, Darrington does aquatic exercise at the Woodburn Civic Pool, an activity, she said, that “keeps me walking.”
“The days sort of slip by now,” she said. “I live with wonderful people here, and it’s just a delight to be with them!”
