From mother of 10 to cloistered nun

Anne Miller playing cards, and later in life as a cloistered nun

We always think of cloistered nuns as solitary women living in a convent with limited access to the outside world. There are of course exceptions, like the case of Anne Russell Miller who just died at the age of 92. She was quite a socialite, enjoying life in San Francisco, married and raising 10 children, and seeing over 40 grandchildren and great-grandchildren being added to her already large family. She smoked and drank, drove fast and played cards with her circle of friends. When her husband died in 1984, she started to retreat into her own personal space. Yet when she turned 61, her children hosted a lavish party for her with 800 guests. A few days later she went to Chicago, and entered a Carmelite convent  in Des Plaines, Illinois, living a contemplative life of complete silence, except for 30 minutes a day. Anne passed away a few weeks ago as Sister Mary Joseph of the Trinity, OCD.