Sister Mary O’Rourke

And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.”
– Luke 1: 46-48

Sister Mary Elizabeth O’Rourke, 98, a Sister of Charity of Leavenworth (SCL) for 78 years, died on February 10, 2025. The second of the four children of James Patrick and Mary Josephine (née Eads) O’Rourke, she was born August 6, 1926, in Duncan, Oklahoma. Her family relocated to Oklahoma City, where she attended St Francis of Assisi Catholic School. She entered religious life on August 14, 1947, and when she received her habit, she took the name Sister Mary Dismas.

Sister Mary’s childhood memories were filled with the hardships of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl, featuring red skies from the Oklahoma clay soil. This experience taught her the importance of appreciating life’s gifts and blessings and how to endure the hardships and challenges of later life.

Sister Mary’s first words were spoken in full sentences. She was bright and inquisitive as a child, loved learning, and by age 20, graduated from Saint Mary College with a double major in mathematics and chemistry. Her early missions included teaching for two years at Girls Central High School in Butte, Montana, and another 12 years at Bishop Ward High School in Kansas City, Kansas. During her summers, she pursued master’s degrees at Saint Mary College and Notre Dame and earned her doctorate from Notre Dame.

Following her doctorate work, Sister Mary became a chemistry and physical science professor at Saint Mary College, where she taught for 30 years. She also taught at Donnelly College, Rockhurst College, and Penn Valley Junior College. She ministered as an educator in the federal and state penitentiaries in the Leavenworth area and conducted Communion services in the Lansing Penitentiary.

Devoted to her extended family, Sister Mary traveled to Oklahoma City annually to celebrate the holidays, and many summers, she hosted the family at Saint Anne’s Lodge near Bailey, Colorado. At age 80, she climbed Mt. Evans (Mt. Blue Sky). In 2011, she spent six months supporting her sister, Teresa, in Oklahoma City through rehab and recovery from heart surgery. As a beloved member of the O’Rourke/Mannix family, she was an integral part of their faith formation and an example of love in action for her many nieces, nephews, and their children. They will deeply miss her smile, exuberant joy, infectious laugh, and loving spirit.

Sister Mary suffered a stroke later in life, but that disability did not deter her from ministry to God’s people. Although confined to a wheelchair and unable to speak, she witnessed to the prayer and presence ministry with her eyes, often communicating what her heart felt. Sister Mary, attuned to the needs of others, intuited when someone needed comfort or reassurance and extended to them a kind smile, an understanding nod, a heartfelt gesture. Sister enthusiastically greeted family and friends of Sisters who came to the Mother House or Ross Hall to visit, waving hello and sharing handmade prayer cards and pictures of saints. Sister Mary frequently ministered to the dying and grieving through her quiet and loving presence, as she often sat beside the bedside of a dying Sister. Despite her struggles, Sister Mary was outgoing, cheerful, and had a grateful heart. The little things in life brought her joy, and she always expressed gratitude for the loving care and kindness extended to her.

Sister Mary was preceded in death by her parents and siblings, Margaret Ann Germann, Paul Joseph O’Rourke, and Teresa Louise Mannix. She is survived by many nieces and nephews and the SCL Community.

There will be a vigil service at 7 p.m., Monday, March 3, 2025, in Ross Chapel, SCL Mother House, Leavenworth. Mass of Resurrection will be celebrated in Ross Chapel at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, March 4, 2025. Interment follows in Mount Olivet Cemetery, Mother House grounds. Memorial contributions can be made to the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, 4200 S. 4th St., Leavenworth, KS 66048.