Sister Mary Octavia Walsh, IHM

Sister Mary Octavia Walsh, IHM, of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary died on Sunday, June 25, 1961, at St. Mary’s Hospital in Scranton, PA.

She was born on June 1, 1897, in Carbondale, PA, and given the name Alidia (Ida). She was the daughter of the late Patrick and Bridget Bell Walsh. She entered the IHM Congregation on March 25, 1915, received the religious habit on July 6, 1915, and made profession of her vows on August 2, 1917.

Sister Mary Octavia served as a teacher at the following schools: St. John the Evangelist Elementary School in Bellefonte, PA; St. Mary Elementary School in Patton, PA; St. Alphonsus Elementary School in New York, NY; St. Ephrem Elementary School in Brooklyn, NY; St. Ann Elementary School in Scranton, PA; Sacred Heart of Mary Elementary School in Jermyn, PA; St. Raymond Elementary School in Lynbrook, NY; St. Ann Elementary School in Nyack, NY; and St. Cecilia Elementary School in Exeter, PA.

From 1957 until the time of her death, Sister Mary Octavia was a prayer minister at St. Paul’s Convent in Scranton.

She was preceded in death by three brothers, Patrick, Michael, and Thomas B., and two sisters, Loretta and Mary Theresa Walsh.

She is survived by a brother, Joseph A. of Carbondale, PA; two sisters, Agnes Casey of Carbondale, PA, and Kathryn Gordon of New York City, NY; nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews.

The funeral mass will be on Wednesday, June 28, at 10:15 a.m. at St. PauI’s Church in Scranton. Interment will follow at St. Catherine’s Cemetery in Moscow, PA. Friends may call on Tuesday afternoon or evening at St. Paul’s Convent.

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Archival Remembrance:

The soul of Sister Mary Octavia Walsh winged its way to God during the sessions of our General Chapter in June. Just a week previous, she was the active, vital, and interested Sister so well known to all of us. Always she will be remembered for her lively and generous spirit. Gladly and generously she enriched our Autumn Fair by her initiative in inaugurating worthwhile projects, and by her power of persuasion in arousing the generosity of others. To her there was no greater joy then to prosper in Community, both by her own service and by interesting others in our welfare. To her pupils she was a devoted teacher, supremely interested in their welfare, and solicitous for their progress. Her prayers and interest followed them in their later lives, and thousands of former students rejoiced to meet her and report their attainments. It was her pride and privilege to have converted two old buildings into commodious and well-furnished convents which gave ample evidence of her solicitude for the Sisters and her generous care of them. God rest this ever-busy Sister who spent herself for the good of the Congregation she loved and served so well.