Sister Marie Jeannine Dawson died in Paoli Hospital on December 25, 2023 in the 75th year of her religious life.
Catherine Jeannine Dawson was born on October 2, 1928 in Cumberland, MD. Her parents Robert Dawson and Mary Della (Troutman) Dawson died when Catherine was very young. The home parish from which Catherine entered the Community was St. James Parish in Falls Church, VA. Catherine attended St. Ambrose School in Baltimore, Maryland and Villa Maria Academy in Falls Church (1937-1944) and attended Immaculate Heart Academy in Fountain Springs, PA (1945-1948). Our IHM Sisters were an integral part of Catherine’s life and nurturing.
Catherine entered our IHM Congregation on October 2, 1948. Sister received her religious name, Sister Marie Jeannine, and the habit of the Congregation on April 18, 1949. Sister Marie Jeannine pronounced her First Vows on April 18, 1951.
Sister began her ministry of teaching shortly after First Profession; for the next 47 years, Sister Marie Jeannine instructed children from grades 1 through 8 in many different parishes and in many distinct locations.
In the Philadelphia Archdiocese, Sister taught at St. Dominic; Immaculate Heart Chester; St. Katharine Wayne; St. Agnes West Chester; St. John of the Cross Roslyn; Immaculate Conception Germantown; BVM Darby; St. Martin of Tours; St. Joachim; St. David, Willow Grove. Outside of the Philadelphia area, Sister taught children in Assumption, Atco NJ; St. Patrick, York; St. Thomas More, Arlington, VA; SS. Peter & Paul Decatur, GA; Epiphany, Florida; and in St. James Falls Church, VA where Sister served as an Administrative Assistant for 9 years and a School Assistant at St. Martin of Tours for the next 10 years.
Sister’s gracious manner, compassion, and joyful service made her a most welcome addition to the Camilla Hall Community in August 2017, at the tender age of eighty-nine, where she served our Sisters with a beautiful smile and a very pleasant demeanor. At the glorious age of 95 Sister returned to her Lord with full hands and a full heart.
In addition to her IHM Community, her local Community at Camilla Hall, Sister is survived by her many nieces, nephews, grandnieces, and grandnephews. Sister is predeceased by her parents Robert Dawson and Mary Della (Troutman) Dawson; her sisters, Edith Dean (Thomas) and Mary Cavanaugh (Michael).
Reverend John Burger, SC celebrated Sister Marie Jeannine Dawson’s Funeral Mass on Wednesday, January 3, 2023, at 10:30 a.m.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be sent to:
Camilla Hall Nursing Home
IHM Mission Advancement Office
230 IHM Drive
Malvern, PA 19355