Sister Dorothy "Marie" McCloskey OSU

Sister Marie McCloskey, born Dorothy Catherine McCloskey OSU, died peacefully at Our Lady of Wisdom Healthcare Center in New Orleans on Friday, October 4, 2019 at age 105. The daughter of Joseph McCloskey and Zita Gogarty McCloskey, she was born February 17, 1914, in New Orleans, Louisiana. She was preceded in death by seven siblings - four sisters: Helen McCloskey Graham, Marion Macdiarmid, Geraldine McCloskey, and Mary Anna McCloskey; and three brothers: Joseph McCloskey, Jr., Patrick McCloskey, and Hugh McCloskey. She is survived by many devoted nieces and nephews. Sister Marie graduated from the Academy of the Sacred Heart in New Orleans after which she attended the Ursuline College, earning her BA in English from Loyola University. She taught with the Ursuline sisters for two years before entering the Ursuline Order on July 15, 1938. She made her profession of vows on January 16, 1941. She earned a Master’s Degree in English from St. Louis University and did further studies in theology at Incarnate Word University in San Antonio. Sr. Marie taught in Ursuline Schools in Galveston, San Antonio, and Laredo, Texas; Decatur and Alton, Illinois; and New Orleans, Louisiana. While she was headmistress at Ursuline Academy in New Orleans, she was the one whose idea it was to begin Rally Night, a tradition which has continued for over 70 years. Sr. Marie served in many roles of leadership as principal, headmistress, or prioress of her local religious community. She also assisted at Villa Maria Retreat Center in Frontenac, Minnesota, and in her retirement years, she returned to New Orleans. Her Funeral Mass will be at the National Votive Shrine of Our Lady of Prompt Succor on Friday, October 11th, 2019 at 1:00 PM with visitation beginning at 11:00 AM. Burial will be in the Ursuline Sisters’ Mausoleum on the campus of Ursuline Academy. A reception will follow the burial. Services entrusted to JACOB SCHOEN & SON FUNERAL HOME. Memorials may be given to The Ursuline Sisters Retirement Fund, 353 S. Sappington Road, St. Louis, MO 63122; the National Votive Shrine of Our Lady of Prompt Succor, 2734 Nashville Ave., New Orleans, LA 70115; or to Ursuline Academy, 2635 State Street, New Orleans, LA 70118.

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