Sr. Dominican Sister of Peace Elizabeth Anne Heery, 84, died at the Mohun Health Care Center, Columbus, OH on March 8, 2018. She was born Eileen Heery in 1934 in Astoria, LI, NY, to Elizabeth Kiernan and James Heery. One of nine children, she was already accustomed to community life when, in 1956, she moved to Columbus and entered the Dominican Sisters of St. Mary of the Springs, now the Dominican Sisters of Peace.
Sr. Elizabeth started her career with the New York Telephone Company. After joining the Congregation, she was moved to minister to the elderly and ill at the infirmary of the original Columbus Motherhouse, the Saint George Hospital in Cincinnati, OH, and at the Mohun Health Care Center in Columbus, OH.
She wanted to do even more to serve the Community and took Pharmacology courses as part of working towards her LPN, which she earned in 1969.
Even after physical problems made it difficult for her to work as a nurse, she continued to care for her Sisters and her community. She often drove Sisters to medical appointments, and also served as a receptionist at the Motherhouse and in the library and the Springs Press.
Sr. Elizabeth’s love for her special ministry with the elderly and ill was summed up in this statement that she made when speaking about her ministry at Mohun Health Care Center, "I have great love and respect for the old and sick in Mohun Hall and St. Mary's. I cannot think of a greater place to spend one's self than in this service."
Sr. Elizabeth was preceded in death by her parents, her brothers James, Anthony, and John, her sisters Mary Emslie and Kathleen Pitarra. She is survived by her brothers, Joseph, and Philip; her sister, Rita Churpita; and many nieces and nephews.
A Vigil of Remembrance and the Mass of Christian Burial was held on March 14 at the Dominican Sisters of Peace Motherhouse Chapel in Columbus, OH. The funeral was held on March 15, 2018. Sr. Elizabeth Ann is interred at St. Joseph Cemetery in Columbus, OH.
To download a printable PDF of this memorial, please click here.
Memorial gifts in Sr. Elizabeth Anne’s memory may be submitted securely online or sent to:
Dominican Sisters of Peace
Office of Mission Advancement
2320 Airport Drive
Columbus, OH 43219.