Sister Linda O’Rourke, D.C., aged 86, died peacefully on January 16, 2025, at St. Louise House in Albany, New York. She was born on October 13, 1938, in Boston to Joseph Frederick and Charlotte Helena (Downey) O’Rourke. She had one brother, Brian O’Rourke. Sister Linda grew up in Cambridge, Massachusetts and graduated from Matignon High School in Cambridge in 1956. She entered the Daughters of Charity from St. Agnes Parish in Arlington, Massachusetts in on April 2, 1957.
Most of Sister’s ministry involved children. In 1965, she received her B.A. in French and Elementary Education from St. Joseph College in Emmitsburg, Maryland, and her MSW in Social Work from Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts in 1974.
Sister served as a teacher at several elementary schools: St. Michael School, Baltimore (1959-1962); Our Lady of Victory School, Portsmouth, Virginia (1964-1968); and, for one year (1968-1969) at Our Lady of Lourdes School in Utica, New York. She also served at Child Care Centers and non-profit organizations established by the Daughters for vulnerable and homeless children, St. Joseph’s Villa, Richmond, Virginia (1964-1968); Nazareth Care Center, Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts; St. Catherine’s Center for Children in Albany (1974-1977); and St. Joseph Gonzaga Home in Philadelphia (1977-1980).
Sister returned to Nazareth Care Center in Jamaica Plain in 1980, where she would serve for the next five years as Administrator (1980-1985). She was then missioned to St. John of God Hospital, Brighton, Massachusetts, where she served as a Social Worker (1985-1999). For the next several years, Sister Linda ministered in social work at Roarke Center in Troy, New York (2010-2013); then as Director at Seton Center Outreach in Emmitsburg, Maryland; and as a Volunteer at Catholic Charities and Lansing Inn in New York. In 2021, she came to St. Louise House in Albany to serve in the ministry of prayer, which she did until her death.
A Wake service was held for Sister Linda on Tuesday, January 21, and her Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Wednesday, January 22, followed with interment at St. Agnes Cemetery in Albany.
Sister Linda is predeceased by her parents, her brother, Brian and sister-in-law, Antonetta Mary. She is survived by nephews Joseph Brian and William (Renee) O’Rourke; niece Susan Lynn (James) Hamm; grandnephews Benjamin and Nathaniel Hamm; Michael and Ann Swezey, Timothy and Karen Smith; her Sisters in Community; many friends; and colleagues.