April 2013
| Business World Magazine | 67
Mary’s Woods at Marylhurst is a continuing
care retirement community located in Lake
Oswego, Oregon, inspired by the vision and
values of the Sisters of the Holy Names of
Jesus and Mary. The Sisters’ goal is to pro-
vide older individuals with a continuum of
housing, health and educational services in
a caring residential community. With over
17 acres of beautiful villas and apartments,
Mary’s Woods at Marylhurst achieves that
goal, offering a lifestyle surrounded by a spir-
it of warmth and natural splendour.
The history of Mary’s Woods is tied
closely to that of the Sisters, a Congrega-
tion that was founded in Longueil, Que-
bec in 1843. The three founding women
were Mother Marie Rose Durocher, Mother
Mary Agnes Dufresne and Mother Mary
Madeleine Cere. Throughout history, the
Sisters have been responsible for conceptual-
izing a number of progressive institutions. In
1859, 12 Sisters arrived in Portland and es-
tablished St. Mary’s Academy. In 1893 they
began Marylhurst College – the first liberal
arts college to serve the educational needs of
northwest women.
Today, the Sisters are an international
congregation of religious women carrying
the fire of their founders into a wider world
of education. In 2001, they opened Mary’s
Woods in Oregon on land between Lake
Oswego and West Linn. Years earlier, they
named the pastoral land Marylhurst, which
means “Mary’s Woods.” The Mary’s Woods
community was designed by the Sisters to
provide care and housing for aged persons,
including their older Sisters.
CEO Marvin A. Kaiser, PhD, joined
