Sister Agnes Marie of the Child Jesus, 87, a member of the Daughters of Wisdom for 67 years, died Jan. 5. Born in Brooklyn, Sister Agnes (Patricia Anne) Bracken was baptized by her granduncle, Msgr. Lawrence H. Bracken, at St. Benedict Joseph Labre Church, Richmond Hill. Sister Agnes grew up in St. Benedict Joseph Labre parish, attended Our Lady of Wisdom Academy, Ozone Park, and entered the Daughters of Wisdom Novitiate after graduation. Professed on Feb. 2, 1957, she received the name Sister Agnes Marie of the Child Jesus.
She attended Maryview Hospital School of Nursing, Portsmouth, Va., and Catholic University, Washington, D.C., for her BSN in nursing. Her years in Washington occurred during the civil rights movement, during which Sister Agnes ministered to the people in the historic “tent city” set up in D.C. She spent a short time at Good Samaritan Hospital, West Islip, NY, and then began public health nursing in Brooklyn. As a visiting nurse, she served the homebound.
At Brooklyn Catholic Charities, she became assistant coordinator for the Office for the Aging. She received her MSN in nursing at Adelphi, Garden City, and a Post-Masters Certification as a clinical nurse specialist in psychiatric mental health. Later, at Molloy College, Rockville Centre, she earned her Post-Masters Certification as a family nurse practitioner. She was a nursing supervisor for Visiting Nurse Services, New York Hospital Cornell Medical Center, St. Mary’s Home Care, and Catholic Medical Center, where she provided direct patient and medical-surgical services. That led her to Nursing Education at Molloy College and St. Francis College, Brooklyn.
To bring the light of Wisdom to Molloy College, Sister Agnes researched “The Perception of the Relationship of Spirituality to Wellness Among Nursing Students and Faculty.” A consummate professional, Sister Agnes endeavored to convey the concepts of respect for the sick and dying and the ethical and legal aspects the nursing profession requires. In other endeavors, she represented the Daughters of Wisdom at a United Nations NGO focusing on the trafficking of women and water availability. She also provided in-service education for the staff at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Convent, Sound Beach, LI, and served on the board of Maria Regina Residence, Brentwood, and the board of St. Francis de Sales Academy, Belle Harbor.
She was a member of the New York Nurses Association and the Brooklyn Diocese Sisters Senate and served on the boards of the Nursing Association of Long Island and Sigma Theta Tau, the nursing honor society. Loved by students, associates, and the patients she encountered, Sister Agnes thrived on the purpose of her profession and the ability to work toward positive health outcomes for the people she served. Immediate survivors include her brothers, Msgr. John J. Bracken and Martin Bracken.
Sister Francis Mary Clark was called to her heavenly home on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. It was at Immaculate Conception School and Parish that she spent almost half of her life as a Sister of Saint Joseph.
Georgina Frances, as she was baptized, grew up in Hollis, where she lived with her loving parents and sister, Joan. She attended Saint Pascal Baylon Elementary School and The Mary Louis Academy and entered the Sisters of Saint Joseph in 1951.
Given the name Sister Francis Mary, she began her teaching career at Saint Cecilia’s. She went on to Our Lady of Lourdes and
Most Precious Blood before teaching for a year at Academia Santa Maria in Ponce, Puerto Rico. Returning to Brooklyn, Sister
Francis Mary taught at Saint Michael’s and was then transferred east to Saint John of God, Our Lady of Lourdes, Saint Philip Neri, and Saint Anthony of Padua.
During these years, she earned a BS in history from St. John’s University and an MA in reading from the State University
at Albany. In addition to becoming an outstanding first-grade teacher, Sister Francis Mary was involved in the Religious Education Program in each parish where she resided. In 1978, she was assigned to Holy Child Jesus School in Richmond
Hill and eight years later to Immaculate Conception in Jamaica Estates. She continued in her gentle but firm manner to
form the hearts and minds of the many first graders who entered her classroom daily.
Father Sean Gann, assisted by Father Jim Price, CP, officiated at the liturgy celebrated in Sacred Heart Chapel. Burial followed in Calvary Cemetery.