Here was a grand lady whose life was at the heart of Mercy.
What I know of her life:
Sister M. deChantal came to the Sisters of Mercy even though she was attracted to Holy Name Sisters. One day as she was listening to a priest as he delivered a Mission in her Oakland parish, she decided that she should enter religious life. She knew the Holy Name Sisters and liked them. There was one drawback. They had beautiful grounds and the young deChantal thought that in entering there she would not be “giving enough up.” She chose instead, the Sisters of Mercy. Now she was in for a surprise because when she got to Burlingame she discovered that the grounds were even more beautiful than those at Holy Names.
I’m not sure how deChantal came to be a piano teacher but she must have been proficient in the instrument, and it was during the depression and any sister who could teach piano was headed that way. The community needed the money.
When I entered, dC thought I was the answer to her prayer and that I would be a fine piano teacher. She very humbly asked me if I would teach her organ! It didn’t last long. She was too busy to take on a new instrument at that stage of her life. I was never a good organ or piano teacher.
Anyway, deChantal became a very fine piano teacher. She studied at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and picked up the best methods of teaching.
When I knew deChantal in the ‘50s, she not only taught, but she guided young teachers in a methodical way using the best tools at hand. She remained in touch with the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She had me go there for instruction. I studied with Adolf Baller and a woman whose name I can’t remember. Poor deChantal! I must have been a disappointment because I never became that great piano teacher.
In community deChantal was exemplary. I remember her at community recreations. For a special feast we would have entertainment. DeC had a little notebook full of stories she would tell.
It was after World War II and deChantal collected clothing to send to her relatives in Austria? She had a “cell” on the first floor where she collected things to send. She began to present programs to raise money for the cause of refugees and she hired “DPs” (Displaced Persons) as piano teachers. They were always well trained musicians. (Marilyn knows their names.)
dC met up with Ruth Slenzenska. Ruth was a child prodigy. Her father was relentless in pushing her to become a great pianist. She had no childhood because the father made her practice, practice and perform.
deChantal hired Ruth to teach piano for Mercy School of Music. She was a star and dC was delighted to have her not only because of her abilities but because dC wanted to help her. (Somewhere along the way a book, “Forbidden Childhood” was written. It might have been another example of Ruth being exploited. Now it was Ruth’s husband who was pushing her just as her father had.)
Ruth became very fond of deChantal. One time when Ruth was on “This is Your Life” she received a large combination stereo and radio. She gave it to deC and it was placed in the Conservatory (the black and white marble floor room in the High School.)
When I entered the convent, dC wanted me to be a good piano teacher so I studied with Ruth. I didn’t find her a good teacher. She just seemed to want one to drill passages over and over. I had had an excellent teacher at Immaculate Heart – Franz Darvis.
deChantal became good friends with important people but I noticed that she treated everyone the same, rich and poor, important or not.
Somewhere deChantal met Leonora Wood Armsey. They became very good friends. Mrs. A. was instrumental in getting Pierre Monteux to come to San Francisco as orchestra conductor.
Leanora was treated no differently than Frank, the janitor. I remember once Leanora came to see dC just as Vespers was about to begin. She sent the portress back to the front door with the message, “I’m sorry I cannot come to visit. I have an engagement with the King.”
When Mrs. Armsby was dying she called for dC to come visit her. When dC arrived, Monsignor Cummins from St. Catherine’s was there. He hated dC because she taught piano in his school, and she always booked it at Mercy School of Music rather than St. Catherine’s School.
dC had cancer and all the time I knew her she had her arm bandaged. It was always swollen with fluid.
Whenever we went anywhere dC was so much fun. One time we were just going to San Jose but she said, “Let’s pretend that we are in a foreign land for the day.” That we did and had a great time.
We went together to a National Music Convention in Pittsburg. We stayed in a hotel and she loved it. She went around turning on all the appliances “because we are paying for it.” She knew an FBI man who was a parishioner at Our Lady of Angels. She told him of our up coming trip to Pittsburg. He told her she must also go to Washington D.C. He told her he would arrange a tour. Well, she was so excited. She agreed to add Washington D.C. to our trip.
We were met at the train station by this undercover FBI man. He looked the part – very stealthy looking. We went straight to the FBI building and began a tour. After learning all about people who were swindlers, murderers, etc. it gradually occurred to me that we were not due for a tour of the city but simply of the FBI building. I couldn’t wait to get out of there. All day long as we did our very limited tour of the city by ourselves, I kept looking at people we encountered and wondering what crime they had committed.
The loveliest thing dC did for me was to release me from teaching piano. I hated it and was not good at it. By this time I was doing a little teaching in the high school and Russell College. I loved group work rather than one-on-one teaching.
Toolan Tales 