Sister Kathryn Healy, GNSH 1932-2024

Sister Kathryn Healy, GNSH, formerly Sister Catherine Marie, 92, died on Nov. 14, 2024. A native of Buffalo, she spent the majority of her years of ministry in her home state. 

Born Feb. 17, 1932, to James N. and Kathryn (Laughlin) Healy, Kathryn Veronica Healy and her family, including three siblings, attended St. Mark Parish. She joined the Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart in 1950 after graduation from Holy Angels Academy the previous year.  

After four years in the classroom in Lowell, Massachusetts; Jackson Heights and Atlanta, she began her long and dedicated service in the field of health care. She received a bachelor’s degree in English and a bachelor’s in Nursing, cum laude from D’Youville College and master’s in Nursing from Duke University in 1972.

Sister’s ministry was centered in the Diocese of Ogdensburg for over 40 years. She served at the A.B. Hepburn Hospital and as administrator at St. Joseph’s Nursing Home in Ogdensburg. She was associate professor of Nursing at SUNY, Canton. Interest in providing care to the dying took her to Potsdam where she founded Hospice of St. Lawrence Valley. Sister was chaplain at St. Lawrence Psychiatric Center Ogdensburg for 13 years. Retiring in 2007, she continued to serve as a volunteer until November 2009. Sister Kathryn received several awards in her years of health care service. She was only the fifth person to receive the Bertrand H. Snell Award from Clarkson University given to individuals of outstanding merit.

Sister is predeceased by her parents and siblings Robert, Mary Alice and Margaret. She is survived by nieces and nephews.

Sharing of memories will take place on Saturday, Nov. 23 at 10 a.m. in the Redeemer Sisters’ Chapel 521 Moredon Road, Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania. A funeral Mass will follow at 10:30. Burial in Resurrection Cemetery, Bensalem, Pennsylvania.