May 31, 2009|By Jacques Kelly
Sister Mary Agnes Klug, a retired chemistry professor at the College of Notre Dame of Maryland, died in her sleep Thursday at her order's retirement home in Woodbrook. She was 100.
Born Dorothy Agnes Regina Klug in Baltimore and raised in Govans on Beaumont Avenue, she was a 1927 graduate of Notre Dame Preparatory School. After graduating from the College of Notre Dame of Maryland in 1931, she entered the School Sisters of Notre Dame. She initially was known as Sister Mary Agnesita. She later used her baptismal name.
In 1933 she began her teaching career in parochial schools in Frederick and Westminster. In 1942 she joined the College of Notre Dame of Maryland faculty where she spent 39 years. Sister Mary Agnes taught chemistry for 15 years before becoming the director of admissions, a position she held for the next 15 years. In 1972 she was named the school's first director of planned giving.
"She looked at everything square-on and then made her decisions," said a niece, Anne Coyle. "She considered everything with her German practicality and pragmatism."
After leaving the college in 1981, Sister Mary Agnes became the director of activities and assistant tour director for her retired companions at Villa Assumpta, her order's retirement home in Woodbrook. At age 88, she became the manager of the community gift shop, a position she held until 2008.
A 2006 Sun article described her as "a small, scrappy Orioles fanatic, who can remember the winning word (s-o-c-i-e-t-y) that made her a third-grade spelling champ." The article mentioned her role at the shop: "Retailing is in her blood. Sister Mary Agnes' father owned Klug's Uniforms, a downtown supplier of workplace apparel that's still going strong."
The article quoted Sister Clara, a member of the order: "She could sell sand to the Arabs."
In April, as part of a birthday celebration, she boarded a sisters' van and enjoyed an Orioles' game at Camden Yards. Her visit was noted on the ball park's Jumbotron.
"I like to keep busy," she told The Sun's reporter. "It keeps my mind off myself."
Sister Mary Agnes was a participant in David Snowden's "Nun Study," a research project on aging and Alzheimer's disease. As a subject in the study, she participated in annual evaluations, and had agreed to donate her brain for research after her death.
A memorial Mass of Christian Burial for Sister Mary Agnes will be held at 10 a.m. June 20 at Villa Assumpta, 6401 N. Charles St.
Survivors include numerous nieces and nephews.
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