Sister Frances (Mary Frances) McSherry, age 95, died at Villa St. Michael in Emmitsburg, Maryland on February 22, 2017. She was born on January 10, 1922 in Silver City, New Mexico, one of three children born to Thomas and Marie (Jones) McSherry.
Sister Frances joined the Daughters of Charity on December 21, 1940 in Emmitsburg, Maryland. After a period of formation, she was missioned as a Primary Teacher to St. Mary’s School, Greensboro, North Carolina (1942-1943), then to St. John’s School in Baltimore, Maryland (1943-1947), and to the Home for Catholic Children in Boston, Massachusetts (1947-1949). From 1949 to 1958 Sister Frances served as Program Director at Sarah-Fisher Home for Children in Farmington, Michigan. She next went to Labouré Center in Boston where she taught in a Day Care Program for one year (1958-1959). Sister Frances again assumed the role of Program Director in St. Vincent Infant Home in Timonium, Maryland (1959-1960); St. Catherine’s Infant Home in Albany, New York (1960-1961); St. Ann’s Infant Home in Hyattsville, Maryland (1961-1968); and St. Vincent’s Home and School in Washington, D.C. (1968-1975). She was a Nursery School teacher at St. Vincent’s Center in Washington, D.C. (1975-1977). From 1978-1979, Sister Frances resumed her ministry as a Primary Teacher in St. Mary’s School, Rome, Georgia. Her next mission was as in Parish Ministry at Our Lady of the Valley in Gloverville, South Carolina (1979-1982). After leaving Gloverville, she returned to St. Ann’s Infant Home as Education Director for the Day Care Program (1982-1988). Her next mission brought her back to Our Lady of the Valley Parish to serve in Parish Ministry (1988-1994). Elizabeth Seton House in Bladensburg, Maryland was her next mission where she served senior citizens (1994-1998). Following this, she assumed the role of Outreach Assistant in Catholic Social Services and St. Ann Neighborhood Youth Center in Fayetteville, North Carolina (1998-2001). She then went to St. Joseph Parish in Petersburg, Virginia to work in the Food Pantry (2001-2003). In 2003, Sister Frances was missioned to Villa St. Michael in Emmitsburg where she played the organ for Mass at St. Catherine’s Nursing Center. She served in the Ministry of Prayer until her death.
Sister Frances earned her Bachelor Degree in 1948 from St. Joseph College in Emmitsburg. In 1949 she received a Master of Education Degree from Boston University.
Sister Frances was preceded in death by her parents and her sister, Rita Gibbons. She is survived by her sister Roberta Van De Heyden, nieces and nephews, and her Sisters in Community.
A wake service will be held on Sunday, February 26 at 7:00 pm in the Villa Chapel in Emmitsburg. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on February 27 at 11:00 am in the Basilica of the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg. Burial will follow in Sacred Heart Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in Sister Frances’ name to the Daughters of Charity, 4330 Olive Street, Saint Louis, Missouri 63108.
Arrangements have been entrusted to the Myers-Durboraw Funeral Home in Emmitsburg.