Sister Margaret Ann Walsh, D.C.

EMMITSBURG, MD ~ May 6, 2008

A Mass of Christian burial was offered at 11:00 am, Tuesday, May 6, at the Basilica of the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Emmitsburg, for Sister Margaret Ann Walsh, DC. Sister died Friday, May 2, 2008 at Villa St. Michael, the province’s retirement residence in Emmitsburg. She was 93 years of age and 71 years of vocation.

The former Margaret Walsh was born in Baltimore, Maryland, one of eight children of John and Delia Joyce Walsh. She lived in Saint Martin’s Parish, and graduated from Saint Martin’s Academy in 1933.

Margaret entered the community of the Daughters of Charity in 1936 and took the name Sister Margaret Ann. She attended Saint Joseph College in Emmitsburg, received her bachelor’s degree in nursing education in 1951, and her master’s degree in administration, nursing education in 1956 from The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C.

With the exception of about six years, Sister’s apostolate in the community was in healthcare. After completing the seminary [novitiate] in 1937, she taught elementary grades in New York at Utica Catholic Academy, Utica, and Saint John Elementary School in Albany, New York.

In 1943, Sister Margaret Ann began her nurses’ training which culminated into a career that lasted 42 years with assignments as director of schools of nursing, instructor in nursing, coordinator of nursing, and hospital education director in Daughters of Charity institutions in Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Florida and Virginia.

Sister’s healthcare missions include:

Lourdes Hospital, Binghamton (NY) 1943-1944
Nursing Instructor

Lourdes Hospital, Binghamton (NY) 1957-1958
Coordinator, Binghamton State School of Nursing

St. Mary’s Hospital, Rochester (NY) 1944-1947
Nurse Student

Sacred Heart Hospital, Pensacola (FL) 1947-1949
Head Nurse

Providence Hospital, Washington (DC) 1949-1951
Nurse Student

Providence Hospital, Washington (DC) 1963-1967
Coordinator, Medical/Surgical Nursing

St. Agnes Hospital, Baltimore (MD) 1951-1954
School Nursing Director

St. Agnes Hospital, Baltimore (MD) 1967-1971
School Nursing Director

St. Agnes Hospital, Baltimore (MD) 1971-1974
Hospital Education Director

St. Agnes Hospital, Baltimore (MD) 1984-1985
Hospital Education Director

St. Mary’s Hospital, Troy (NY) 1954-1957
Instructor, College of St. Rose

St. Mary’s Hospital, Troy (NY) 1958-1961
Director of Nursing

Carney Hospital, Boston (MA) 1961-1963 Coordinator of Medical/Surgical Nursing

DePaul Medical Center, Norfolk (VA) 1974-1978
Hospital Education Director

St. Vincent’s Medical Ctr., Jacksonville (FL) 1978-1984
Hospital Education Director

In 1985 Sister Margaret Ann was assigned to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola (FL) and worked in the pastoral care department there until 1992. She returned to St. Joseph’s Provincial House in Emmitsburg where she served as pharmacy manager until retirement to the Villa in 1997.

She was a member of the American Nurses Association and Council of Continuing Education of ANA.

Sister Margaret Ann is survived by a sister, Sister Julia Walsh, DC, Emmitsburg, nieces Sister Mary Bernadette Forney, DC, Emmitsburg; Margaret Ann Graham and Angela Kinlin (NJ); Bernadette Shine (PA); Dolores Costello, Eileen Walsh, Mary Monica Cook (Baltimore); Kathleen Tokouzis (Greece); Loretta Simpson (CA); nephews Paul Forney, John Walsh, Dennis Walsh and Patrick Walsh (Baltimore) and numerous grandnieces/nephews.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Daughters of Charity Support Fund for the Elderly and Infirm Sisters, 333 South Seton Avenue, Emmitsburg, Maryland 21727.