MaryknightsMaryknights MaryknightsThe Maryknights
Ladies Auxiliary

As the official Ladies Auxiliary of Father Rosensteel Council, No. 2169, Knights of Columbus, the Maryknights are a very important adjunct to the Council. The Knights are a fraternal, family, service organization. Therefore, membership in the Maryknights is open to the immediate adult female family members of any member (living or deceased) in good standing in Fr. Rosensteel Council. The Maryknights are a strong, vibrant organization in their own right, and they add a terrific amount to the overall strength of Fr. Rosensteel Council.
The Maryknights have pledged themselves to assist Father Rosensteel Council No. 2169 and to promote the social, cultural and religious well being of their members. The Maryknights were organized in 1960 under the leadership of President Margaret Ward and consisted of 60 charter Members. Membership has more than doubled. 

The ladies have enjoyed many guest speakers, demonstrations and religious celebrations, but their primary focus has been on service. A bazaar was held in 1963 to raise funds for a statue of the Blessed Mother for the lobby of Holy Cross Hospital. Annual charity balls have benefited Heroes Inc., Wheaton Rescue Squad, the Volunteers for the Visually Handicapped, the National Catholic Office for the Deaf, Dorothy Day Place, Stepping Stones, Raphael House, Hospice of Montgomery County, the Marian Novitiate, the Little Sisters of the Poor, Catholic Deaf Center, Kennedy Institute, Children's Inn at NIH, and Birthright of Wheaton. Ongoing community projects have included Birthright, St. Anne's Infant Home, the Kennedy Institute, and several homeless shelters for men and women.

In 1987, the Maryknights participated in the Preview Shopping Day and Charity Benefit sponsored by the Hecht Company. The $6,600 earned became the seed for their current Charity Fund.  Since then, they have held such projects as card parties and bake sales to supplement their Charity Fund.

In 1989, the Maryknights hosted the Ladies Luncheon held at the National Knights of Columbus Convention in Baltimore, and in 1992, 1999, and 2000 they won the Maryland State Council Award for ladies Auxiliaries, Division A.

Father Rosensteel Council is the beneficiary of all funds earned at the Annual Special Activity. Those monies have redecorated the Jouvenal Room and both Ladies rooms, purchased a commercial microwave for the kitchen and paid for a number of improvements in the recent remodeling of the Columbian Room.  They have also contributed to the erection of a Memorial to the Unborn located in a cemetery across the street from the Council Home.

On the Domestic scene the ladies have baked many cakes and served in numerous buffet lines for both Council and catered affairs. They also assist the Knights in activities such as the Tootsie Roll Drive, the Senior Christmas Dinner, children's parties, and holiday food and gift collections for the needy.

Maryknight Officers
2005-2006

Past Maryknight Presidents

1960-61 Margaret Ward
1961-62 Marian Ruck
1962-63 Sue Ann Riley
1963-64 Pauline Taggart
1964-65 Kathryn Power
1965-66 Bernadine Nesline
1966-67 Anne Shovlin
1967-68 Bertha Aaron
1968-69 Anne Farrell
1969-70 Ann Caspar
1970-71 Winnie Carroll
1971-73 Madeline Geroux
1973-74 Eileen Harrison
1974-75 Ann Swift
1975-76 Celia Descalzi
1976-77 Peggy DeHarde
1977-78 Lonnie Desantis
1978-80 Betti Winston
1980-81 Regina Wilk
1981-82 Margaret Dwyer
1982-83 Mary Lou Kusek
1983-85 Frances Foster
1985-86 Mary Lyon
1986-88 Patricia Royals
1988-89 Beraldine Bonin
1989-91 June Kennedy
1991-92 Patricia Koski
1992-94 Nancy Marchone
1994-96 Kathy Arvedlund
1996-98 Concetta "Tina" Rose
1998-00 Joan Rutledge
2000-01 Beth Ward
2001-02  Marge Fait
2002-03  Arlene Draize
2003-04  Marge Fait
2004-05  Kathy Arvedlund
2005-06  Nancy Marchone