Sacred Hearts Sister served in Hawaii, California
Sacred Hearts Sister Marie Dominic (Ruth Ann) Reantaso
Hilo-born Sacred Hearts Sister Marie Dominic (Ruth Ann) Reantaso, who was a teacher in Hawaii and California among other ministries, died peacefully in her sleep on April 5. She was 84 and a religious sister for 65 years.
Sister Marie Dominic was born on July 18, 1932, in Hilo town on the Big Island to Sunday (Domingo) Reantaso and Lucy Novite Silva Reantaso.
She attended Sacred Hearts Academy in Honolulu, graduating in 1951. That same year she entered the Congregation of the Sisters of the Sacred Hearts.
Sister Marie Dominic taught religion and music at Sacred Hearts Academy from 1956 to 1975. In 1975 she was assigned to Maria Regina School in Gardena, California, where she continued to teach and direct the parish choir.
In 1981, after studying at the Mexican American Cultural Center, she went to San Bernardino, California, where she worked with the Department of Evangelization and Catechesis for Hispanics. Later, in 1997, she was a consultant for the Office of Religious Education and Formation in the Diocese of San Bernardino.
Sister Marie Dominic returned to Hawaii to serve in Maria Lanakila Parish in Lahaina, Maui.
In 2007, she became part of the Community in Mission, a new ministry the Sacred Hearts Brothers and Sisters began in Artesia, New Mexico.
Sister Marie Dominic returned again to Hawaii in 2014 to reside at Malia O Ka Malu Convent in Kaimuki. She served on the Sacred Hearts Academy board of directors until her hospitalization in January 2016. After recovering from a stroke and rehabilitation, she returned to the convent under hospice care.
Sister Marie Dominic is survived by her sister Carmen Singson, her brother Thomas Reantaso and nieces, nephews and cousins.
Her funeral was April 13 in the Sacred Hearts Academy chapel. She is buried at Hawaiian Memorial Park Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please give a donation to the Sacred Hearts Academy Scholarship Fund.
