Engaging and dedicating our lives to social justice can be a true calling. It’s a calling that can take the form of using education as a platform to educate children, or serving our communities to the best of our abilities. This was exactly what Sister Patricia Ann Hurley did throughout her life. On January 2, 2015, at the Dominican Life Center in Adrian, Michigan, God called her home.
Sister Patricia Ann Hurley holds a special place in our hearts here at Mary’s Pence. She served as a bookkeeper and clerk for Mary’s Pence for many years. She was loved by many including Karen Flotte, the former Executive Director of Mary’s Pence. Karen states that “she was an amazing woman. If you look back in the old archived financial records, you will see her work, all done by hand on bookkeeping paper with amazing clarity and precision. She was the steady, quiet rock who created a foundation in the home office so Maureen (Mary’s Pence foundress) could do her amazing work organizing, speaking, meeting — ever tilling the fields across the country. Together they built the legacy we all inherited. The beautiful statue of the kneeling woman was given to Mary’s Pence by Pat. She is the one who first put a prayer altar in the office– a tradition we carried from Chicago to Metuchen — donor slips, letters, etc. were all put there recognizing the sacred commitment our donors were making through their offering.”
Sister Patricia Ann was born in Detroit and graduated from St. Theresa High school in Detroit. She went on to receive a bachelors degree in English from Sienna Heights college in Adrian, Michigan. For 38 years she ministered in elementary education in Cleveland, Ohio and in Illinois. She served as an assistant principle from 1978 to 1987. Sister Patricia Ann, will forever be part of our Mary’s Pence community and her contribution to social justice will continue to be reflected in our organization.