SISTER MARIE SULLIVAN, age 92, died at Caritas Christi, the motherhouse of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, in Greensburg, on Monday, April 8, 2013. A Pittsburgh native, Sister Marie Sullivan entered the congregation of the Sister of Charity on September 8, 1937, from Saint Anselm Parish, Swissvale, PA. Preceded in death by parents, Henry and Johanna (Maloney) Sullivan, six brothers: Joseph, Thomas, Raymond, Donald, Edward and Paul, she is survived by a brother, William. She earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education from Duquesne University. Sister Marie was a school administrator and teacher in schools of the Greensburg, Phoenix and Pittsburgh dioceses. In 1944, she was one of the first Sisters of Charity sent to open St. Mary School in Chandler, Arizona, where she taught and eventually served as principal. Sister Marie taught special education at Sacred Heart School, Shadyside, for ten years and, through a teacher exchange program between the Sisters of Charity and the Holy Family sisters, she taught in New Orleans for four years. Of this latter experience, Sister Marie noted: “I went to New Orleans thinking that I was going to do a very special ministry but, instead, I was the recipient of many blessings.” Reflecting on her life, Sister Marie said, “I’m grateful for the gift of being a Sister of Charity. I have experienced joy, trust, and the means for a simple life. O God, let Your love rest in us as our hope has rested in You.”
