Sister Alice Marie Hays was born in Monroe City, Missouri, January 23, 1908; she entered religious life at Mount St. Scholastica, Atchison, Kansas, in 1924 and became a charter member of Benet Hill Priory in 1963.
She often spoke of “an almost anguished longing for intimacy with God,” and saw that if Benet Hill were to be a center sharing Christ with others, she must be available to listen, to heal, and to welcome those who came. Her serenity, peace, JOY, and concern for others evidenced her “walking with God.” Conversion of life, a goal set for her both by baptism and vows, was nearing that longed-for point on the continuum of life. Trust, hope, and humility kept her hopeful and placid.
She enjoyed the best in music and literature and completed the portraits of the sixty-five Sisters in the community history, A Song in the Pines. “I’d like to be as clear water reflecting the gentle Christ,” she had often said. And this she has become. She was a Song in the Pines.
