Sister Mary Kane

Sister Mary Kane Maryknoll Sister for 71 years; 93 MARYKNOLL, NY Sister Mary H. Kane, died on Saturday, September 20, 2008, at Maryknoll Sisters Residential Care 3. She was 93 years old, and had been a Maryknoll Sister for 71 years. Mary Kane was born on May 30, 1915, in Fitchburg, MA. The daughter of Helen M. Fenton Kane and John T. Kane, she had 3 brothers, and 2 sisters. Her parents as well as all three brothers, Thomas J. Kane, Paul J. Kane, and John F. Kane, have predeceased her. Mary attended high school at St. Bernard's in Fitchburg graduating in 1932. She then worked with New England Telephone Co. in Fitchburg, as a telephone operator for four years. Mary entered the Maryknoll Sisters from St. Bernard's Parish in Fitchburg on June 10, 1937 at Ossining, NY receiving the religious name of Sr. M. Helen Agnes. She made her first vows on January 6, 1940 and her final vows on the same date in 1943 at the Maryknoll Center in Ossining, NY. Sister Mary Kane worked at the Field Afar office of the Maryknoll Society and the Motherhouse switchboard from 1942 until 1946. She was assigned to Hawaii, Central Pacific in 1946 until 1951. In Hawaii, she did social work in Nuuanu until 1949 and was involved in the care of children in Wailuku until 1951 when she was assigned to the Motherhouse switchboard again. In 1952, Sister Mary worked for the Sponsor Department as well as being a chauffeur for our infirmary in Bethany. A new phase of her mission began in 1956 when she was assigned to Queen of the World Hospital, an inter-racial hospital begun by the Maryknoll Sisters to provide a place for black doctors and medical staff a place to practice, in Kansas City, MO. There she studied to become a Licensed Practical Nurse and served in nursing supervision of central supply until 1966. Sister Mary continued in this new line of work until she transferred to the U.S. western Region in 1967. For 10 years, she worked as an LPN staff nurse in the emergency room of the San Joaquin County Hospital. The care she gave to patients and their families there are reflected in the words of a Mexican worman who was overheard encouraging a friend who baby was sick: "Don't be afraid to go to the County Hospital, just go to Emergency and ask for Sr. Mary. She is kind to everyone." In 1977, Sister Mary began working in Immaculate Conception Parish, an inner city parish in Sacramento where she became the coordinator of the parish Senior Citizen program. She helped convert the parish convent into a Residence for Elderly Seniors and became the Associate Director for the Home, also living there. In 1979, Sister Mary became the Nutrition Site Manager at John XXIII Senior Center in San Jose, CA where she worked until 1985 when she moved to visiting the sick and elderly in their homes and being a parish Eucharistic Minister until 1992. Sister Mary retired to the Maryknoll Sisters Retirement Community in Monrovia, CA where she lived until 2002 when she was assigned back to the Maryknoll Sisters Center in Ossining, NY. In 2003, she transferred to the Maryknoll Sisters Residential Care where she lived until her death. Sister May Kane has two sisters, Mrs. William Buchanan (Irene) of Fitchburg, MA, and Mrs. Agnes Sullivan of Ayer, MA, who survive her.