Memorial Minute –
Maurine Pyle
1949-2022
Mildred Maurine Pyle (Maurine) passed away at her assisted living facility in Terre Haute,
Indiana, on May 21, 2022. At the time of her death, Logan Elisha Plummer, a student and
member of Southern Illinois Quaker Meeting, and his spouse, Sage Moffett, were with her.
Because right eldership and mentoring youth were among her deepest callings, their
companionship was a blessing as she approached her transition.
Maurine was born on July 5, 1949, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, into a large Cajun Catholic
family. She was one of eight children. Although she always felt mystically close to God, the
traditional Catholic church did not nurture her relationship with Spirit. She was moved by
Dietrich Bonhoeffer—a Christian who actively opposed Hitler’s rise to power even though it
cost him his freedom and his life. Bonhoeffer’s writing portrayed Christianity as more than the
patriarchal hierarchy that frustrated her as a young adult. Maurine was drawn to Quakers in part
because of their long history of equality for women. Later in life, she made peace with her
Catholic heritage, becoming an associate member of the School Sisters of Notre Dame, a
Catholic order committed to empowering others—especially women and the poor.
When Maurine came across the meeting house in Annapolis, Maryland, she decided to attend,
becoming a member and a Quaker in 1975. Later she moved to Illinois, joined Lake Forest
Meeting, and after raising her family she became active in Illinois Yearly Meeting. In addition to
giving the 1998 Plummer lecture, she served as ILYM Clerk in 2003-2004 and Field Secretary
from 2005 to 2008. Maurine moved to Carbondale in 2009, transferring her membership to
Southern Illinois Quaker Meeting.
Not long after reading Bonhoeffer, Maurine had a mystical vision. Describing it in her Plummer
Lecture, she wrote: “For the first time, in that moment of pure ecstasy, I became Christian.”
Maurine’s Christianity was not a narrow one: “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet
cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind…” (Matthew 13:47) Maurine felt especially
called to help Friends of all backgrounds perceive the universal meanings behind the specific
words we use, so that one Friend’s “Christ” could be felt as the next Friend’s “God” and the next
Friend’s “Spirit” or “Light.” Maurine recounted that shortly after her vision, she heard a clear,
insistent Voice telling her to “Record your ministry.” Drawing upon older Quaker faith and
practice, in 2009 Southern Illinois Friends recorded her ministry as a leading, a calling, and a gift
of the Spirit.
She wrote, “God has called us to be companions to one another. We are asked simply to walk
with the person in need, to offer our hand, to be present and compassionate in sharing their pain.
They will also be walking with us, giving us strength and encouragement…” Throughout her
life, Maurine’s work focused on community development and reconciliation, whether that was
within the Quaker Community or in the world at large. She worked on prison reform with the
John Howard Association. She served as a facilitator for various religious and civic organizations
that had unresolved divisions within them. She traveled the world as a facilitator for Play for
Peace and went to Russia to present at an international peace conference. She attended the
Parliament of the World’s Religions in 2015. She always sought elders and companions to assure
her path was one properly reflecting her leadings.
Maurine was a graduate of the University of Kentucky and held master’s degrees from National
Louis University and Southern Illinois University Carbondale. She authored two books, New
Children of the Light which explores metaphors used by Millennial Quakers and Making
Change: Facilitating Community Action (co-author Jeanne L. Hites Anderson).
She is survived by two sons, Ned and Nick Pyle, four siblings and a large extended family. Her
parents and three siblings pre-deceased her.
Maurine lived simply, calling herself a “Quaker Hobo” because she did not always know where
she would find material support. She adopted the metaphor, “As the way opens” as her guide.
She asked to be remembered, “as a peacemaker, a follower of Jesus, and a loving family member and friend.”
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*This Minute was shared by Pat Schenck via email with the AFM membership with the accompanying note… “There are only a few of us left who remember Maurine Pyle, who was part of our meeting in the ’70s and ’80s. She served as clerk of meeting during the latter part of that time. Annapolis was her first Friends meeting, and she took off from there, as you will read. She passed away recently and her memorial minute is attached.”