Age 93
The zeal and excellence with which Sister Mary Jude has faithfully served in both schools and hospitals is reflected in the simple words of her religious motto, “God Alone.”
Entering the Sisters of Mercy in Portland, Maine, at the age of 20, Sister Mary Jude soon began her higher education at Our Lady of Mercy College (forerunner of St. Joseph’s College in Standish). After six years of teaching elementary education in the Portland, Maine, diocese, she earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Bentley College in Boston, Massachusetts. She obtained her master’s degree in business administration from Suffolk University in Boston, Massachusetts in 1972.
From 1961 to 1969, she served as chief accountant and assistant comptroller at Mercy Hospital in Portland, Maine. Next, Sister Mary Jude was appointed administration director and later, vice-president and chief fiscal officer. She was the recipient of the William Fulmer Award in 1967 for “outstanding services” in the field of hospital accounting and finance by the Maine Chapter of Hospital Financial Management Association.
After a distinguished 18-year career in finance, Sister Mary Jude was called to serve at her alma mater St. Joseph’s College as the chair of the business department. She received the Outstanding Faculty Award three times which was later renamed “The Sister Mary Jude Award.” She was then elected president of the Maine Association of Accounting Professors. In her later years she was able to return to Mercy Hospital as a volunteer.