by Sr. Rita Higgins, MMM                                Ireland                                  22.10.2025

Recently I was sorting out some photos for the family of the late Sr. Pauline Dean, MMM, who died 3rd February this year, aged 103, in Aras Mhuire Nursing Home. Among the photos was a large black and white one, taken during World War 2 days when Pauline was a medical student. On the back of the photo was her careful note naming the people in the photo, Millicent, Pauline, Steven and Helen. Helen, I knew, was Pauline’s younger sister.

How to describe Pauline? Pauline was English, and, in spite of living in multicultural communities all her life, she never lost her British accent. She was a medical doctor and paediatrician, but her talents went well beyond her professional role. She was a published author, a gifted artist, a natural actor, and with a wonderful sense of timing, could have made a career as a stand-up comedian!

Pauline was a doctor before joining MMM. This is the nub of the story. She went to the USA to study Paediatrics and somehow met two MMMs when they needed help with a puncture. They invited her to visit them in our house in Winchester MA, and as they say, the rest is history! Pauline spent her early missionary life in Nigeria and finally ended up in Kenya. She left Kenya finally when she was 81.

After looking at the photo I found, I began a conversation with some of the Health Care attendants who knew and loved Pauline, showing the photo and reading out the names. One of the Carers, Amy, said to me: “Oh, let me see Steven.” I was puzzled and asked: “How do you know Steven?”

She said that when they asked Pauline about her early life, Pauline often talked about a young man named Steven who she was very fond of and how he had gone to war and never returned. Amy said that Pauline wondered what might have been her life if he had returned.

As we looked anew at the photo, we were struck by the mystery of how life events influence our paths. In our conversation, Amy’s telling of Pauline’s story and the discovery of the precious photo came together, giving us all a precious memory and a story long forgotten and lost was restored.