A Mass of Christian Burial for Sister Mary Josephine Hill, D.C., was celebrated Aug. 2, 2013, at the DePaul Chapel on the Daughters of Charity campus in Albany, N.Y. Burial followed at St. Agnes Cemetery in Menands, N.Y.
Sister Mary Josephine died July 30, 2013, at 96 years of age. In March 2013, she celebrated 64 years of vocation as a Daughter of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul.
Born in Ansonia, Conn., on Sept. 29, 1916, Sister Mary Josephine (baptized Mary Josephine) was one of four children born to James Michael and Helen (Sheehy) Hill. She graduated from St. Vincent’s Hospital School of Nursing in Bridgeport, Conn., in 1943. She later earned her Bachelor of Science degree in nursing from St. Joseph College in Emmitsburg, Md., in 1958.
Sister Mary Josephine joined the Community on March 13, 1949. She began her 21-year career in health care at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Jacksonville, Fla. (1950 – 1951). She then served at St. Margaret’s Hospital in Dorchester, Mass. (1951 -1952). From there, Sister moved to Providence Hospital in Washington, D.C., where she ministered five years (1952 – 1957); then to Binghamton, N.Y., to serve at Lourdes Hospital (1957 – 1960); on to Carney Hospital in Boston, Mass. (1960 – 1962); St. Vincent’s Infant Hospital in Baltimore, Md. (1962 – 1964); Seton Institute in Baltimore (1964 – 1965); and then to Villa St. Louise in Washington, D.C. (1965 – 1968); St. Anne’s Home in Washington, D.C. (March 1968 – December 1968); and finally to Elizabeth Seton Hospital in Waterville, Maine (1968 – 1970).
Once her career in health care ended, Sister Mary Josephine’s second career began at St. John’s Parish Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. (1971 – 2000). There, she spent 29 years in the direct service of some of the most needy and vulnerable. She and five companions opened a mission in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn.
Sister Mary Josephine initiated the nursing aide training program at St. John’s and taught full-time in this special ministry. She was able to create effective links with nearby nursing homes where her students received good practical experience and later obtained suitable employment. The program she established continues to operate successfully today. Sister changed the lives of the men and women she worked with so her students gained useful employment and regained their independence.
In 2000, Sister Mary Josephine entered the Ministry of Prayer at St. Louise House in Albany.
Sister Mary Josephine is predeceased by her parents and brothers, Jim and Ed, and sister, Eleanor. She is survived by her nieces, Mary Infante, Nadine DePalma, Ellen Mahony, Macaire Stein, Susan Mahony and nephews John (Sandra) Mahony and Colum (Judy) Mahony.