O’Connell, Sr. Myra


O’Connell, Sr. Myra

Myra O ConnellSister Myra was born in Dun Laoghaire, County Dublin in 1925 and joined the Medical Missionaries of Mary in 1943. After profession she trained as a nurse in Saint Vincent’s Hospital, Dublin and as a midwife in Drogheda.

She worked for about two years in the theatre and outpatients’ department in Drogheda before assignment to Naples, Italy in 1953. She served there as a ward sister for eleven years, followed by two years in Rome. In 1966 Myra returned to Ireland to train as a nurse tutor in University College Dublin. She taught for two years in the school of nursing in Drogheda and was re-assigned to Naples for a further two years.

In 1974 she went to Malawi and taught midwifery and nursing for a further two years in Saint John’s Hospital in Mzuzu.

Sister Myra was assigned to the USA In 1978. After helping in Winchester, MA for three years, she worked as a nurse in the infirmary of the Sisters of the Cenacle in Boston. In 1986 she moved to Somerville, MA where she was the manager of the fund-raising office. She also served in MMM leadership and was on the formation team for the USA.

In 1994 she was assigned to Chicago and for six years was involved in fund-raising work and was local bursar.

After retiring in 2000, she worked as a volunteer in the Archdiocese of Chicago. She returned to Somerville in 2006 and helped in the community.  Because of increasing physical incapacity Myra moved to the nearby care facility run by the Little Sisters of the Poor, the Jeanne Jugan Residence, in 2008. While there she was a volunteer in their multimedia library and research centre.

Sister Myra died peacefully in the Jeanne Jugan Residence on 8 December 2015.


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