[The following is an excerpt from "Aging with Grace: The School Sisters of Notre Dame Study" by Sharon M. Reynolds, which appeared in the University of Kentucky publication Odyssey, Winter/Spring 1993 edition.]

David Snowdon has a computer full of statistics, but it is the album in his mind that he treasurers--the radiant faces of women nearing the end of their lives who remain vitally involved in life.

"My impression of the sisters whom I first met in 1985 when I began the study has not changed," says Snowdon. "It shattered all my stereotypes of how 80- and 90-year-old people are supposed to behave. They seem so mellow after a lifetime of contemplation. They are living saints and sages." He adds that like the gurus of Eastern religions, many of these women may be viewed as mystics of the Christian faith.

To Snowdon, the most engaging aspect of the Nun Study is the elderly sisters themselves--women like Sister Mary, a centenarian who can still tell you the name of her first mother superior, and Sister Mercedes, 90 and nearly blind, whom Snowdon describes as "a woman who radiates beauty."

Many of the sisters in the study are now living in retirement homes such as the one in Elm Grove, near Milwaukee. Their lives are far from lonely, and many remain active into their 90s. Among them are Sister Columbine Kumba, 93, and Sister Mary Godfrey Huber, 92, both former teachers.

Like other sisters participating in the University of Kentucky based research, they receive on-site annual assessments of their mental and physical health. They are also donating their brains for research into the causes of Alzheimer's disease and stroke. As part of a religious congregation whose average age is 70, they are especially sensitive to the issues involved in the UK study.

"I feel that taking part in this study is for my present well-being, and it promises to improve my life condition," Sister Columbine said in a recent telephone interview. She speculated that the sisters' "regular lifestyle" had contributed to their longevity. "You certainly don't get lonely here," she said.

The two women have taken part in the life history interviews conducted by anthropologist Lydia Greiner, an associate of Snowdon's. "The interviews allowed me to explore areas in my life which, until then, I was totally unaware existed," Sister Columbine said. "And the memory tests showed me that my memory is still keen."

Sister Mary Godfrey, who grew up in a small town in Upper Michigan, believes remaining fairly independent and healthy at her age can be attributed in part to her early lifestyle. "We lived very simply. We didn't eat all this highly seasoned food they have nowadays. We had plenty of vegetables and meat. We also had a beautiful home and made our own pleasure."

She's recently begun to feel the pull of aging, however. Following what she describes as "a number of bad spells," she has had to use a walker off and on to get around the retirement home.

"But I still participate in all the activities; I go to meals and to mass; and I play pinochle." She used to play bridge but has had to forego that pleasure since she can't seem to find enough partners nowadays, she adds.

The only survivor of seven siblings, Sister Mary Godfrey was the only child in her family to attend college. But she didn't decide to become a nun until she was 21.

"I had a taste of life, even had boyfriends," she says. "But it's strange the way the Lord works. No one had ever spoken to me of a vocation. I decided that was what I wanted to do after I read the autobiography of the Little Flower (St. Therese of Lisieux)."

Sister Columbine grew up on a farm in Wisconsin, entered the order in 1915 and taught school for more than 60 years. Her former students are still important to her; she continues to write to many and they often visit her.

Although severe arthritis has made it necessary for her to begin using a wheelchair, she remains fairly independent. She enjoys going to music therapy and playing cards with other sisters. "Judging from my activities, they're predicting I'll live to be over 100," she says.

When Sister Columbine and Sister Mary Godfrey became nuns, options for women were limited. Had they chosen the more traditional path of marriage, chances are they might have outlived their partners, many of their friends and relatives and would be spending the last years of their lives in virtual isolation.

"One of our greatest strengths is that we live and work together in a community," says Sister Marjorie Myers, archivist for the School Sisters of Notre Dame in Mankato. "There is strength in mutuality, and we help each other."

Far from being cloistered behind convent walls, the Notre Dames have a long history of keeping in touch with the world. As early as the 16th century, the order's ancestors were teaching young girls in Europe; in the 19th century, the sisters opened night schools where working girls could better themselves.

"We are learners as well as teachers," says Sister Marjorie. "Education is such a vibrant, life-giving thing."

Working among the nuns has been an enriching experience for Lydia Greiner, who, like Snowdon, has spent many hours in their company. "They have a sense of enjoyment of life and of each other. They're like anybody else--they laugh, they get annoyed, have political opinions, read novels, enjoy sewing and going to the mall. They have been very open and warm with us."

While conducting her interviews, Greiner was surprised at the extent of sacrifice of some of the sisters. "I didn't realize how much these women and their families had to give up when they entered the congregation," she says. "Visits home were very limited and often their mission assignments were hundreds of miles away from their families."

Inevitably, as Snowdon and Greiner work with the elderly women, some of the nuns have died. The occasion isn't necessarily a sad one, the researchers say.

"I've attended a lot of funerals of nuns," says Snowdon. "And it's usually only the lay nurses who cry. For the sisters, death is part of life, and they're ready to go on. Funerals are celebrations of the sister's life and the people she touched. They remain very engaged in life, yet they are prepared for death."

Update:  Sister Columbine Kumba died March 29, 1994, shortly after her 95th birthday. Sister Mary Godfrey Huber was 100 years old when she died on August 3, 2000.