In Loving Memory...

Sister M. Nicholas, CSC
(Rose Margaret Gough)
Birth: December 9, 1912
Profession: August 15, 1934
Death: September 13, 2007

This afternoon we gather to remember and celebrate the life of Sister Nicholas, Rose Margaret Gough. She was born December 9, 1912, in Dayton, Ohio, to Nicholas and Mary Gertrude Byrnes Gough. The family is of Irish-American descent, and her grandparents were probably from County Mayo, Ireland. Rose was one of eight children. All of her siblings predeceased her. A number of nieces and nephews survive.

She attended the parish grade school in Dayton and continued her education at Julienne High School in the same city. Her education was under the direction of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur. She entered the Holy Cross novitiate in 1931 with the hope that she would be sent to India. Her interest in the missions was peaked by a Holy Cross seminarian who sold subscriptions to the Bengalese Magazine. For a graduation gift she had received a copy of The Following of Christ, which she opened and read: “Go where you will, seek what you will, and you will find no higher way than the Way of the Holy Cross.” So, despite the fact that her eight best friends were entering the Notre Dame order, she came to Holy Cross—indicating on her queries that she wanted to go to India.

Her assignments as a postulant and an initially professed sister took her to various schools in the Midwest, where she taught both grade and high schools. After final profession in 1937, she attended Mount Carmel School of Nursing in Columbus, Ohio, because the pope had requested that sisters going to the missions abroad be trained as nurses. She later received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing from the Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. Following her studies, she was the director of the schools of nursing at Saint Joseph’s Hospital, South Bend, and Holy Cross Hospital, Salt Lake City. Her love for the missions never waned. However, her own desire to be a missionary in India never materialized.

At the completion of 12 years at Mount Carmel Hospital as a research consultant in nursing services, Sister Nicholas came to Saint Mary’s in 1984 and lived in the Saint Mary’s College convent. The large convent at Mount Carmel was closed. These years were bittersweet for her as she looked through the many “treasures,” which were a part of her life. It was evident to her Holy Cross sisters, her caregivers and others, the great love she had for her family, the pride in her students, love for her profession, and a desire to reminisce and converse about the past.

During the renovation of Augusta Hall, Sister Nicholas was moved to Saint Mary’s Convent in 1995. It was my privilege and task to assist her in the moving process. Once again, even when it was necessary to insist that we move along with this task, our friendship was cemented, and I truly began to appreciate how important these “treasures” really were to her.

The 12 years in Saint Mary’s Convent brought new friends and new experiences for her. She was the patient, rather than the nurse. Her sense of humor, kindness, prayerfulness, deep faith and appreciation brought joy and comfort to all whose lives she touched. 

Nicholas, we will miss your calling out for help, your sweet smile, and your love of good food. May you now rest in peace.

Written by Sister Joan Elizabeth Johnson, CSC

Memorial contributions may be made to the Sisters of the Holy Cross Ministry With the Poor Fund, Saint Mary’s, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556.