A Mass of Christian Burial for Sister Maria Rosa Dorr, D.C., was celebrated Jan. 12, 2013, at the Basilica of the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg, Md. Burial followed at Sacred Heart Cemetery in Emmitsburg.
Sister Maria Rosa died Jan. 9, 2013, at 84 years of age at Villa St. Michael, the Daughters of Charity senior care residence in Emmitsburg. In December of 2012, she celebrated 65 years vocation as a Daughter of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul.
Born in Blackville, S.C., on May 11, 1928, Sister Maria Rosa was the third of four children born to Victor and Caroline (O’Gorman) Dorr. She was baptized Eleanor Louise Dorr. She was the last remaining member of her immediate family.
After completing her secondary education at Blackville High School, Sister Maria Rosa attended St. Joseph College in Emmitsburg and then The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., where she earned her B.S.N. in 1952. In June of 1970, Sister Maria Rosa earned her Master of Science in medical surgical nursing at Boston College in Boston, Mass.
Sister Maria Rosa ministered as a nurse at Providence Hospital in Washington, D.C. (1949 – 1956 and 1978 – 1979); St. Ann’s Infant Home in Hyattsville, Md. (1956 – 1958 and 1974 – 1978); St. Mary’s Hospital in Troy, N.Y. (1958 – 1964); Carney Hospital in Boston, Mass. (1964 – 1970); and Sacred Heart Hospital in Cumberland, Md. (1970 – 1974). Sister Maria Rosa served in parish ministry, outreach and pastoral care before entering the Ministry of Prayer at Villa St. Michael in Emmitsburg in 2004. She had been a resident of St. Vincent’s Care Center in Emmitsburg for several years before her death.