Sister Julie (formerly, M. Valeria) Budai CDP, entered eternal life on April 9, 2022, at the age of 97. Julia Elizabeth was the third child of Ellis and Velma (Nagy) Budai. She was born on March 27, 1925, in Angus, Texas which is six miles from Corsicana and near Dallas, Texas. All eight children were raised in their parents’ Hungarian customs and traditions.
Julia Elizabeth answered God’s call to become a Sister of Divine Providence on September 8, 1943, and professed first vows on June 22, 1946. She always wanted to give herself to God and cherished her 60 years of ministry in education, service to her family and congregation, and all her experiences as a Sister of Divine Providence.
Sister Julie earned a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Education from Our Lady of the Lake University. She began her ministry in 1946 as an elementary teacher. Over time, she taught at the middle and high school levels that required additional training and certification. She prepared herself for a new chapter in Home Economics by taking courses at Incarnate Word College, Texas Women’s University, and Our Lady of the Lake University. The schools where she taught were located in Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma. She served dually as a principal for four years at St. Joseph School in Yoakum, Texas, and taught Home Economics at Providence High School in San Antonio, Texas from 1960 -1962 and 1971-1984. She ministered to her own family for 17 years then returned to Our Lady of Lake Convent where her master seamstress skills became assets to her Congregation and its annual Heritage Day Sale.
Sister Julie was very talented and leaves a legacy of gentle precision and beauty. Her elegance, politeness, and kindness will remain embedded in many people’s hearts and memory.
She is survived by her brothers, Frank and Rufus Budai, her sisters Ima M. Scott, Irene A. Amman, and Jean Hill, and numerous nieces and nephews, and her Sisters of Divine Providence. She was preceded in death by her parents, Ellis and Velma (Nagy) Budai, and siblings, Jess T. Budai and Ethel J. Henzler.
The Rosary is Monday, April 18, 2022, at 4:00 p.m.; Wake, at 6:30 p.m. Mass of Resurrection, is Tuesday, April 19, 2022, at 11:00 a.m. All services will be in Annunciation Chapel at Our Lady of the Lake Convent Center.
In lieu of flowers, you may wish to make a memorial contribution to the Sisters of Divine Providence, 515 S.W. 24th Street, San Antonio, Texas 78207-4619.