Sister Virginia Cotter, age 87, died January 12, 2014 at Villa St. Michael in Emmitsburg, Maryland. She was born February 24, 1925 in Brookline, Massachusetts. Sister Virginia was the third of seven children born to Margaret (O'Day) and John Cotter.
She joined the Daughters of Charity on December 30, 1951 in Emmitsburg, Maryland. After graduating from St. Joseph College with a degree in Nursing in 1956, she was sent to Seton Institute in Baltimore to care for the mentally ill until 1959. Her next assignment was at the Astor Home in Rhinebeck, New York caring for mentally disturbed children. She received a Master's Degree in Nursing Administration from St. John's University in New York in 1961, and served in several hospitals as Director of Nursing Service or in a variety of administrative roles. These included Providence Hospital in Detroit, Michigan, St. Agnes Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland, and Providence Hospital in Washington, D.C. In 1966 she became the Administrator of St. Vincent Medical Center Jacksonville, Florida, a position she held until 1972. Following this assignment she returned to Providence Hospital in Washington, D.C. and then to DePaul Hospital in Norfolk, and Sacred Heart in Pensacola, Florida and St. Vincent Medical Center, Jacksonville, Florida. In 2006, Sister Virginia went to St Joseph Parish, Martinsburg, West Virginia to work in outreach as a parish visitor. In 2008, she was missioned to Villa St. Michael to serve in the Ministry of Prayer, a position she held until her death.
Sister Virginia was preceded in death by her parents, and three siblings. She is survived by her brothers Michael Joseph of Walpole, Massachusetts and Vincent of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; her sister Marie Hennessy of Roslindale, Massachusetts; several nieces and nephews and her Sisters in Community.
A wake service will be held on Friday, January 17, 2014 at 7:00 PM in the Villa Chapel. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Saturday, January 18, 2014 at 11:00 AM in the Basilica of the National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Emmitsburg, followed by burial in Sacred Heart Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in Sister Virginia's name to the Daughters of Charity, 4330 Olive Street, Saint Louis, Missouri, 63108.
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