Sr. Margaret Held

1948 - 2016

Held, Sr. Margaret, SSSF Sr. Margaret Held, School Sister of St. Francis, entered Eternal Life on Aug. 25, 2016 in Durant, MS at the age of 68. She was born in Hartford, WI, on Aug. 15, 1948, to Jerome and Dolores (nee Gundrum) Held. Sister Margaret was raised in Slinger, WI. She attended St. Peter's Grade School and entered the School Sisters of St. Francis in Milwaukee, WI, in 1962, and graduated from Alverno College. Sister Margaret started her religious ministry in education and later entered the nursing field. She taught at St. Joseph's High School in Kenosha and then felt her calling as a social worker in Holly Springs, MS. Because of the need for dedicated health care professionals in the communities of the South, she earned her nursing degree at Creighton University in Omaha, NE, in 1981 and worked as a home health nurse. She received a Master's Degree from Mississippi University for Women as a Nurse Practitioner, and worked for the Department of Health in Tupelo and DePorres Health Center in Marks, MS. Her final ministry was with Sister Paula Merrill (Sisters of Charity of Nazareth) at a clinic in Lexington and another in Durant, MS. They dedicated their lives and love to the poor and disadvantaged for 30 years in the South. They were loved by all the people they served and will be missed deeply by their communities and patients. She was preceded in death by her parents and a sister, Mary Reidell. She is survived by her sisters and brothers: Beth (John) Bacik, brother-in-law Edward Reidell, Jean (Andy) Knoll, Sue (Joe) Zuern, Jim (Mary) Held, Annette (Peter) Schulz, and Tony (Karen) Held, along with many nieces and nephews, great-nieces and nephews, aunts, uncle and cousins and members of her religious community, the School Sisters of St. Francis, with whom she shared 49 years of life. Visitation will take place at School Sisters of St. Francis, St. Joseph Center, 1501 S. Layton Blvd., Milwaukee, WI, on Friday, September 2, 2016, at 8:30 AM, followed by the wake service at 9:30 AM, in the same location. Mass of Christian Burial will follow at 11 AM. Committal will be at Mount Olivet Cemetery, 3801 W. Morgan Ave., Milwaukee, WI, at 2:30 PM. In honor of Sister Margaret's commitment to ministry, memorial donations can be made to: The School Sisters of St. Francis Office of Mission Advancement, 1501 S. Layton Blvd., Milwaukee, WI 53215. To donate online, go to www.sssf.org.