A lifelong educator, Maxine (Mackie) Kraemer, RSCJ, was committed to educational justice, especially for people with developmental disabilities.
In 1968, she became president of St. Madeleine Sophie’s Center, originally a school for developmentally disabled children, which now serves adults with developmental disabilities. She would stay for twenty-four years. Among her accomplishments at the center was a supported work program, placing developmentally disabled adults into integrated community jobs, for which she received local and national recognition. She retired from St. Madeleine Sophie’s Center in 1992.
Sister Anita Lapeyre, RSCJ, said of Sister Kraemer, “She was always happy in whatever God sent her to do. What was so prevalent about her was her constant trust in God. She always felt that God would be present in whatever was to be accomplished and that nothing was impossible. Her gratitude for the beauty of the earth and for the loveliness of the people that were in her life motivated her to give her all. Acceptance, trust and unbounded love for God and all creation were values that I will forever remember as gifts that Mackie gave to all who knew her.”
