Joseph and Virginia Ripp are among the Sisters’ most beloved friends. Joe has long served as an advisor to the Dominican Sisters, and Ginny is a trustee of Saint Thomas Aquinas College, which was founded by the Sisters in 1952. In 2017, the congregation honored them with a Veritas Award for their good works and generous support in furthering of the mission of the Sisters. However, the most cherished connection that unites the Ripps to the Sparkill Dominicans is their mutual love of Ginny’s sister, Sister Noreen Nolan, who passed into God’s loving arms in 2011.
Sister Noreen Nolan joined the Dominican Sisters in 1964 at the age of 17. At that early age, she embarked on her lifelong mission of bringing the word of God and the life-changing impact of a quality education to thousands of middle class and lower-income students throughout the New York area. Noreen always believed that she was where God wanted her to be. She believed that knowing and loving God gave children a compass to know what is right, and that a quality education gave them the tools they would need to be productive citizens and loving family members.
In Sister Noreen’s memory, Joe and Ginny Ripp created the congregation’s first challenge grant aimed at supporting the Sisters’ ministries in Pakistan. Numerous individuals responded to the Ripps’ challenge, allowing for the purchase of two vans to help the Sisters to reach out to Christian communities living in the desert, to offer a quality education to more impoverished, minority children, and to care for the girls who live in their hostels while attending their schools.
Joe and Ginny’s gift honors Sister Noreen’s memory and ensures that her mission lives on. The Sisters are immensely grateful to Joe and Ginny Ripp for their inspired gift.
“Noreen dedicated her entire life to her mission: bringing the word of God to children through Catholic education. By helping the Sisters in Pakistan, we can help her lifelong mission continue for future generations.”
– Joe and Ginny Ripp