In Remembrance

Sister Mary Charles (Sara) Murphy

Sara Elizabeth Murphy, the second-born of five children of the late Earl J. and Elizabeth Gaus Murphy, was born in Wheeling, West Virginia, on March 7, 1922. She died at Mount St. Joseph on Tuesday, March 18, 2008, at the age of eighty-six.

Sara received her early education at Blessed Trinity School and St. Joseph Academy in Wheeling. She entered the Congregation of St. Joseph on September 8, 1940 and, upon reception into the novitiate on April 8, 1941, received the name of Sister Mary Charles. Two years later on that date she became a member of the congregation when she professed her vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.

Sister Mary Charles ministered within the congregation during much of her active life, serving as Director of Transportation at Mount St. Joseph for nearly twenty-five years. She studied at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh and participated in food service workshops and seminars held in Massachusetts and New York. For many years she cared for children at St. John’s Home for Boys and later supervised preparation of food for seminarians and staff at St. Joseph Preparatory Seminary in Vienna. Sister Mary Charles taught children in primary grades at St. John School in Benwood; St. Mary School in Clarksburg; St. Francis Xavier School in Moundsville; Cathedral Grade and Corpus Christi Schools in Wheeling. She retired from active ministry in 2005 but continued to serve others through a ministry of prayer and service.

Sister Mary Charles was preceded in death by her parents; her brothers, Louis and Robert; and her sister, Doris. In addition to members of her congregation, she is survived by her brother, Charles and his wife Mary Ann Murphy of Mansfield, Ohio; and several nieces and nephews.

Sisters, family, friends, and former colleagues were received at the Mount St. Joseph Chapel from 1:00 - 9:00 p.m. on Monday, March 24. A vigil service was held at 7:00 p.m. on that day. Her Mass of Resurrection liturgy was celebrated at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, March 25, with the Rev. Walter Buckius, SJ, as celebrant. Interment was in the Sisters of St. Joseph section of Mount Calvary Cemetery.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Sisters of St. Joseph of Wheeling Foundation, Inc., 137 Mount St. Joseph Road, Wheeling, WV 26003. Funeral arrangements were handled by Altmeyer Funeral Home, Fourteenth and Eoff Streets, Wheeling.

Sister Regina Cecilia (Anna Regina) Haggerty

Sister Regina Cecilia Haggerty, daughter of the late James and Catherine Carey Haggerty, was born in Brooklyn, New York, on February 21, 1927, where she was baptized and received the name of Anna Regina. She died at Wheeling Hospital on January 22 in her 81st year.

Sister Regina’s family returned to Ireland in 1932, and she received her elementary education from the Sisters of Mercy in Moville, Co. Donegal, and secondary education at St. Brigid’s in Callan, Co. Kilkenny. She first came to the Congregation of St. Joseph in Wheeling on February 19, 1946, and entered its novitiate on August 19 of that same year. Two years later on that date she made her first profession of vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.

Sister Regina Cecilia earned a Bachelor of Science in Education from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh and a Master’s Degree in Religious Education from Fordham University in New York. She served as principal and/or teacher in elementary schools of the Wheeling-Charleston Diocese for more than twenty years. During that time she taught at St. Anne School in Bristol, VA; St. Agnes in Charleston; Blessed Sacrament in South Charleston; St. Mary and St. James in Clarksburg; St. Peter in Fairmont; Sacred Heart, Corpus Christi and Cathedral Grade School in Wheeling. After receiving her MRE from Fordham she was director of religious education at Blessed Trinity Parish in Wheeling.

From 1978 until 1998 she served within the Congregation of St. Joseph as Director of Formation after which she became a special minister to the aged and infirm sisters at Mount St. Joseph. Subsequently she ministered as Coordinator of the Mount. From 1998 until her sudden death she continued to offer prayer support and community service among the sisters at the Mount.

In addition to the members of her congregation, she is survived by her brother, Michael Haggerty and his wife, Florence; a niece Kathleen Wernecke and her husband Jay; a nephew, James Haggerty; and several cousins.

Family and friends were received from 1:00 to 9:00 p.m. on Thursday, January 24, at Mount St. Joseph, 137 Mount St. Joseph Road, Wheeling, where Vigil Services were held at 7:00 p.m. Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, January 25, in the Mount St. Joseph Chapel with Rev. Walter Buckius, SJ, as celebrant. Interment was in the Sisters of St. Joseph section of Mount Calvary Cemetery.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Wheeling Foundation, 137 Mount Saint Joseph Road, Wheeling, WV 26003. Funeral arrangements were handled by Altmeyer Funeral Home, Fourteenth and Eoff Streets, Wheeling.

Sister Anne Patricia (Mary Frances) Whalen, CSJ

Sister Anne Patricia Whalen, the second child of the late Patrick J. and Dora Questal Whalen, died at Mount St. Joseph on Saturday, November 3, 2007, at age 93. She was born in Portsmouth, Ohio, where she was baptized and received the name of Mary Frances. She completed her elementary and secondary education at St. Joseph’s School in Huntington before she entered the Congregation of St. Joseph, Wheeling, West Virginia, on June 23, 1933, and six months later became known as Sister Anne Patricia. She professed the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience as a Sister of St. Joseph on December 31, 1935. Sister was preceded in death by her parents and her only sibling, Catherine Whalen Smith.

Sister Anne Patricia received both her BS and MS in Education Degrees from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. During her fifty years as an educator and administrator, she ministered to students in Benwood at St. John School; Clarksburg at St. Mary and Notre Dame High Schools; Fairmont at St. Peter High School; Vienna at St. Joseph Preparatory Seminary; Weston at St. Patrick High School; Wheeling at Blessed Trinity and at Blessed Martin Elementary and High School which she co-founded and administered for thirteen years. During the 1970s, Sister Anne Patricia served as Secretary to the President of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Wheeling and then as an assistant to the Diocesan Superintendent of Schools. In addition, she provided a ministry of hospitality at Paul VI Pastoral Center in Wheeling. Upon retirement she served as Activities Director at Mount St. Joseph until 1996.

She is survived by several nieces: Patricia Bird, Ellen Captain and Theresa Repass; nephews: Robert and John Smith; and several great nieces and nephews.

Family and friends will be received from 1:00 to 9:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 6, at Mount St. Joseph, 137 Mount St. Joseph Road, Wheeling, where Vigil Services will be held at 7:00 p.m. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, November 7, in the Mount St. Joseph Chapel with Rev. Walter Buckius, SJ, as celebrant. Interment will be in the Sisters of St. Joseph section of Mount Calvary Cemetery.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Sisters of St. Joseph of Wheeling Foundation, Inc., 137 Mount St. Joseph Road, Wheeling, WV 26003. Funeral arrangements by Altmeyer Funeral Home, Fourteenth and Eoff Streets, Wheeling.

Sr. Mary (Joan of Arc) Byron

Sister Mary Byron, the only child of the late Thomas and Louise Sampson Byron, died on Tuesday, May 22, 2007, at Wheeling Hospital. She was born May 18, 1933, in Elizabethton, Tennessee, and graduated from Elizabethton High School in 1951. She entered the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in 1952 and professed her vows on March 19, 1955. She received a BSEd degree from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, an MA from East Tennessee State University, and a Licentiate in Canon Law from Catholic University of America in Washington, DC.

For thirty years she served in parochial schools of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston as a teacher at Blessed Martin, Corpus Christi and Central Catholic High School in Wheeling; St. Agnes in Charleston; Blessed Sacrament in South Charleston; St. Peter Grade and High Schools in Fairmont; St. Joseph in Huntington; Notre Dame in Clarksburg; and Bishop Donahue in McMechen. She also served as campus minister and taught courses at West Liberty State College.

Since receiving a Licentiate in Canon Law in 1987 she has been employed by the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston serving for a total of seventeen years in the Tribunal Office. She was a member of the Sisters of St. Joseph General Council from 1989-1993. She also served her congregation as a board member for A.B.L.E. Families and for the Associate Program. She has resided primarily at Mount St. Joseph in Wheeling for the last 20 years.

Sr. Mary is survived by an uncle, Phil Givens of Tennessee, and a cousin, Margaret Monroe of North Carolina.

Family, friends, and co-workers joined the community for the Vigil Service and Mass of Christian Burial, which were celebrated at Mount St. Joseph.

Sister Mary Jude (Patricia) Jochum

Sister Mary Jude Jochum, daughter of the late Ollie and Elizabeth Donovan Jochum, died at Wheeling Hospital on Thursday, May 10, 2007. She was born March 29, 1928, grew up in McMechen and attended St. James School before she graduated from St. Joseph Academy in Wheeling. “Tish” entered the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in 1947 and professed her vows on March 19, 1950. She studied at Catholic University of America and received a BS Ed degree from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. In 1972 she earned an MA in Administration from St. John’s University in Cleveland.

From 1950-1993 she proved to be an outstanding leader in Catholic education, a labor of love for which she was awarded “The Bishop’s Cross” in 2000. She served at St. Peter and Fairmont Catholic Grade Schools, St. Francis Xavier in Moundsville, Ss. James and John in Benwood, as well as Sacred Heart, Cathedral Grade and St. Vincent de Paul in Wheeling. For twelve years she was Superintendent of the Wheeling-Charleston Diocesan Schools. Since 1993 she served her congregation as Administrator of Mount St. Joseph in Wheeling. She also served on several boards of directors including: Sisters of St. Joseph of Wheeling Foundation, St. Joseph's Hospital (Parkersburg), West Virginia Board of Regents and Ohio County Public Library.

She was preceded in death by her brother, James, and a nephew, Michael. She is survived by her brother J. Edward Jochum, his wife, Rosemary, of Kansas and his children Jerry and Susan Jochum Ohmes; her nephew James K. Jochum and his mother, Mitzi Jochum.

Family and friends joined the community for the Vigil Service and Mass of Christian Burial, which were celebrated at Mount St. Joseph.