Sister Judy Lund of Kalispell is celebrating 60 years as a teacher. This also marks her 60th year as a Dominican sister.

Teaching became her vocation after she entered the Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa in 1955 at 18 years old. Lund, 79, had been drawn to a life of service.

“My family was very service-oriented. They always were helping people, looking for causes,” Lund said. “In the ’50s there really weren’t the options women have today to do all those things. I mean you could not go out and join the Peace Corps and all those neat things. Your only options were: You could be a nurse, or you could be a teacher. You could get married or you could become a sister.”

Her mother had been a Montessori teacher.

“I was playing at being a teacher from the time I was probably knee high,” Lund said. “It’s that exuberance. It’s that spontaneous joy that children have that gives me life and gives me hope. I love nothing better when that little lightbulb goes on and there’s the ‘a ha’ moment.”

Lund has taught at elementary school through college. She has been a literature, composition and science teacher. Currently, she teaches scripture to fifth and sixth graders at St. Matthew’s School.

Joining the Dominican sisters was a carefully weighed decision. Lund spent her senior year of high school looking at her future.

“I had a scholarship. I was going to be a dental hygienist, but it’s not fair to look at just one aspect of life,” Lund said.

She had an additional two years of instruction and preparation before professing her vows. Ultimately, the sisterhood was her path to fulfillment.

She visited a few different orders, but nothing compared to a joyful encounter with the Sinsinawa Dominicans.

“A cousin suggested I see the Sinsinawa Dominicans. When I went to visit for a weekend I just had a very overwhelming feeling, yep this is where I want to be for the rest of my life,” Lund said. “First of all it was their dedication to study and to teach, but the thing that was most obvious when I went to visit was their overwhelming joy. They just radiated joy and happiness and when I opened the door there was just this belt of laughter. I walked in, I said ‘oh, I feel at home here.’”

Her vocation has taken her to Wisconsin — her home state — Illinois, Texas, South Dakota and Colorado. Ultimately it also brought her back to Montana, a place she has visited since she was 10.

“I had a grandma and two uncles and an aunt who lived in Coram,” Lund said, noting their last name was Forsythe. “When school was out from the time I was 10 to the time I entered [the sisterhood] I came out to spend the entire summer with my grandma. When I entered I thought I probably would never get back here again.”

In 1991, she had a year-long sabbatical and came back to the Flathead Valley. Eventually, a third-grade teaching position opened up at St. Matthew’s. What was supposed to last a year turned into 23.

“I’ve seen lots of changes here,” Lund said. “The spirit of St. Matthew’s, it just blossoms all the time. The caring community of families and parishioners — everyone pitches in and helps.”

Lund’s recent cause outside of education has been raising awareness and money at St. Matthew’s for a community-led effort to create shelter for homeless teenagers called Sparrow’s Nest of Northwest Montana. There is one memory Lund will never forget — the time a homeless child died in her arms while on a short trip to Bolivia.

“The thing that burns in my heart is holding this little baby that these homeless children had found. I was holding it in my arms and it had such a fever that when I think of it I can still feel the burning of that little body next to my arms. The baby’s eyes closed and of course the baby died,” Lund said. “We had an orphanage so we took those children into the orphanage.”

“When I came back I said that’s not possible in the United States anymore and then to come and to realize it’s still very much a part. We have shelters for dogs and cats and horses and yet we can’t get shelter for kids,” Lund said. “We’re working on [Sparrow’s Nest]. We’re growing by leaps and bounds. This parish and school have done so much it’s become their passion.”

When she’s not dedicating her time to teaching or prayer, Lund enjoys hiking and camping in Glacier and reading. But mostly on the weekends she can’t wait to see her students on Monday.

“They energize me, get me excited about teaching. Even with all the changes, in 60 years, kids will still be kids whether they are in kindergarten or in college. I want to touch that child in them again that sees the world as awesome. Maybe that’s it,” Lund said resting her chin on her hands. “I want to encourage them to use their talents and gifts for their benefit, and the benefit of others.”

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or by email at hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.