She said she was her parent’s favorite daughter. Being their only daughter might have helped Dominican Sister Julie Greig gain that title.

Sister Greig will be among the Dominicans attending the Golden Triangle Reunion Jan. 20 at St. Anthony Cathedral Basilica, Beaumont.

“I am excited about coming to the reunion to see all of the people I know. It is always good to come back to the Beaumont area to see the many friends that I made while at the Retreat Center and growing up in Port Arthur,” Sister Greig said.

Her parents, John and Claudia Greig, were active members of St. Joseph Parish in Port Arthur and were known for their support of the parish, the school and the needs of Dominican sisters. Her father worked as a clerk for the Gulf Refinery.

Greig was the third of four children. She grew up with three brothers, Ronald, now deceased, John and Kenneth. Her youngest brother is better known as Msgr. Kenneth Greig, pastor of St. Peter the Apostle Parish, Groves.

“I grew up with lots of aunts and uncles! My mother was the oldest of 10 children and her parents died before we were born, so we always had a lot of people at our house for Sunday dinner,” Sister Greig said.

Attending school at St. Mary’s in Port Arthur and graduating from Bishop Byrne High School Section 1, the ministry of the Dominican sisters had a major impact on her life.

“I did enjoy school, and I was in the drum and bugle corps, or better known as the Colleens,” Sister Greig shared.

Two of her mother’s sisters were Divine Providence Sisters. “They would come home for a visit every five years. I was always fascinated by them,” Sister Greig said.

She decided in the eighth grade she would like to go to high school in San Antonio where the community of the Divine Providence Sisters was located. She wanted to discern her vocation to religious life.

“One day I was talking to my mother and told her of my thoughts about going to San Antonio. Her comment to me was that if I had a vocation to religious life I should stay home for high school and be with my family, then if I still wanted to become a Sister I could go after high school,” Sister Greig said.

She did stay and shares that she didn’t think any more about the convent until her senior year when Dominican Sister Rita Norris came calling.

“Sister Rita wanted me to speak to the Mother General of the Dominican order. I didn’t know why she wanted me to talk to her, but it ended up with me asking for permission to enter the convent,” Sister Greig said.

She entered the Dominican order and will be celebrating her golden jubilee this summer.

Sister Greig has served in California, Houston, Port Arthur and Beaumont. She was a first-grade teacher for a long time and also a principal. In the Beaumont diocese she was the principal at Central Catholic School, Port Arthur, and co-director of Holy Family Retreat Center, Beaumont.

“Right now I am a staff chaplain at Ben Taub County Hospital in Houston. I pray with patients, and I am with families when there is a death. I am in the emergency rooms when there is a trauma,” Sister Greig said. “I find I get more from this ministry than perhaps I give.”

Happy in her vocation, Sister Greig urges parents to encourage their children to consider religious life when making decisions about their future.

A Golden Triangle Reunion celebrating the 125th anniversary year of the Houston Dominicans will be Jan. 20 at St. Anthony Cathedral Basilica, 700 Jefferson Street in Beaumont. The sisters attending will celebrate Mass at the Cathedral Basilica at noon and a reception will follow in St. Anthony Cathedral Basilica Center at 1:30 p.m. Anyone in the diocese is welcome to attend.