Sister Mary Rita Kennedy
(Sister St. Leonard)
A Grey Sister of the Immaculate Conception, Pembroke, Ontario, died in Pembroke, on the 15th day of January, 2018 in the 80th year of her Religious Life. Left to mourn are the members of her Religious Community, her first cousin, Sister Maureen Taylor, G.S.I.C, nieces, nephews, and many dear friends. She was predeceased by her parents, William James Kennedy and Mary Margaret Taylor, her brothers Joseph Taylor Kennedy, and William James (Corky). Sister Rita was born on May 11th,1920, in New Edinburgh, Ottawa. She entered the Grey Sisters' Community on March 17th,1938, pronouncing her final vows on August 5,1943. Graduating from the Pembroke General Hospital School of Nursing in 1943, Sister Rita remained at the Hospital as a Staff Nurse for one year. Her next assignment led her to the General Hospital, Sault Ste. Marie, where she ministered in several areas, including Unit Supervisor, Nursing Science Teacher, Director of Nursing, and Director of the Sault Regional School of Nursing, a post she held for five years. Sister Rita served in Sault Ste. Marie for a total of twenty-seven years. From 1974, Sister Rita served on the Grey Sister's General Council until 1981, when she was appointed Administrator of St. Patrick's Home for the Aged in Ottawa, ministering there for the next seven years. Following a well-deserved Sabbatical at the Credo Program in Spokane, Washington, Sister Rita was assigned the position of Auditor for the Ottawa Ecclesiastical Tribunal for a period of four years. In her later years, always generous and dedicated, she worked as a volunteer at the Assumption Church, Bronson Centre, Island Lodge, and St. Patrick's Home, Ottawa. Her final years were lived peacefully at Shalom Residence, Pembroke. Visitation at Caritas Residence, 215 Deacon Street, Pembroke, on Thursday, January 18th, 2018 from 9 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. Funeral Liturgy in the Caritas Chapel at 10:30 a.m. Interment in St. Columba’s Cemetery, Pembroke. Arrangements by the
Neville Funeral Home
491 Isabella St., Pembroke, ON, K8A 5T8
(613) 732-7481
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