Sister Mary St. Pius was born in the state of Washington she christened Barbara May and she came to Trona when she was very young. Her father, Frank May was employed as an engineer for AP&CC. He was involved with borax refining and was also a photographer.
She became a nun after graduation from college around 1955 and went to the Monastery of the Angels in Hollywood, CA. She spent over 65 years of her life there and served as their archivist As the number of there nuns dwindled down to four or five the Church relocated the few remaining nuns and closed the monastery in January 2024.
When she was 5 she started kindergarten in the old Trona Elementary School that was turned into a department store. Of the twenty-five students she graduated with there were six of them that had started kindergarten with her.