Age 81
Sister Pat was a multi-talented woman who shared her gifts and leadership through many services in her professional and volunteer ministries.
With bachelor’s degrees from Mt. St. Mary College in Hooksett, New Hampshire, and St. Anselm College in Bedford, New Hampshire, she also earned a master’s degree in nursing from Boston University and a PhD in nursing education from Harvard University, both in Boston, Massachusetts.
Starting out as a staff nurse in the former Sacred Heart Hospital in Manchester, New Hampshire, eventually she held faculty positions as an instructor and assistant professor in the graduate nursing programs at Boston University, St. Xavier College in Chicago, and the University of Maryland. In addition, Sister Pat was the coordinator of public policy for the Sisters of Mercy Health Care System in St. Louis, Missouri serving seven southern states and Belize ministries.
From 1994 to 2002 she served as president of the New Hampshire Sisters of Mercy and from 2010 to 2015 served on the Northeast Community Leadership Team. She was instrumental in establishing the Warde Health Center in Windham, New Hampshire, and McAuley Commons, low-income housing for the elderly in Bedford, New Hampshire.
Sister Pat ministered as the diocesan director of New Hampshire Catholic Charities for two years, director of SOAR! Support Our Aging Religious for five years, and director of mission at St. Andre Health Care in Biddeford, Maine. She also co-authored a book on leadership, “Setting Hearts on Fire: A Spirituality for Leaders.”