Sister M. Urban Donavan, IHM
Sister M. Urban Donavan, IHM, of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary died on Wednesday, January 30, 1957.
She was born on January 9, 1870 in Fairview, Pennsylvania, and given the name Mary. She was the daughter of the late William and Ann Talbor Donavan. She entered the IHM Congregation on January 7, 1890, received the religious habit on July 20, 1890, and made profession of her vows on April 3, 1893.
Sister Urban was an accomplished seamstress, and for many years served at Mount Saint Mary's in Scranton, PA, helping ready new sisters for reception and profession ceremonies.
Interment is at St. Catherine’s Cemetery in Moscow, PA.
Memorial contributions may be made to support the retired IHM Sisters c/o the IHM Sisters Retirement Fund, IHM Center, 2300 Adams Avenue, Scranton, PA 18509.
Archival Remembrance:
Few of our Sisters are not personally indebted to our beloved Sister M. Urban Donovan. For decades of years, Marywood and Sister Urban were almost synonymous, at least in matters of clothing. Her meticulous care of all things and her constant solicitude for the needs of all, made her a personal friend. She knew each Sister personally, and in her selfless service, she led a life of real dedication to the work of the Congregation. Her quiet and unfailing care of reception and profession ceremonies are holy traditions. When her eyes, worn out in God's service, no longer brought recognition of Sisters, she remembered voices and readily identified them with "numbers," in her own precise way. Who can forget her almost continuous prayers as she wove them into her labor? Her Mary-life sanctified her Martha-life. In her retired life, her surcease from labor gave her the longed-for opportunity for greater prayer. Then the chapel became her living room, and her prayer was almost constant. May God reward her example of continuous prayer and of selfless devotion to the needs of others.
