In Loving Memory...
Sister Olivia Marie, CSC
(Eleanor Louise Hutcheson)
Birth: October 11, 1917
Profession: February 2, 1938
Death: May 6, 2008
"Blessed are those whose ways
are blameless, who live with spiritual integrity! Blessed are those who
honor the Inner Being, who follow you with their whole heart, who enfold
the world with love and walk on peaceful paths!" Ps. 119
It is good for us to gather this Pentecost afternoon with gratitude and
love to remember our dear Olivia. The youngest child of Vincent and
Margaret Hutcheson, Olivia (Eleanor) grew up in a tightly knit family
surrounded by love and affection, which she has spent a lifetime giving
back to family, friends, and colleagues in ministry too numerous to count.
This strong, gentle, compassionate woman gifted so many of us with the
warmth of her listening presence so grounded in God.
Called to the ministry of nursing, Olivia spent many years bringing new
life into the world as an obstetrical nurse and dispensing comfort and
healing as a medical/surgical nurse before being called to leadership as a
hospital administrator. She ministered in various capacities at Mount
Carmel Hospital, Columbus, Ohio, and in every Holy Cross hospital in the
West – Saint Alphonsus, Boise, Idaho; Holy Cross, Salt Lake City, Utah;
Saint Agnes, Fresno, California – and during this past year she was
celebrated as the foundress of Holy Cross Hospital in Mission Hills,
California. Her steadfast devotion to Holy Cross and her firm purpose of doing
what needs to be done freed her to carry out innovative plans for
Catholic healthcare in the United States and to bring the Holy Cross
Health System into being. Always she birthed new life and brought comfort
and healing.
Although her early desire to serve in Bangladesh was never totally
fulfilled, her fondness for the people of Bangladesh continued throughout
her life. Imbued with the global spirit of Blessed Father Moreau and a
social justice focus, Olivia was attentive to the needs of suffering
people throughout the world. Consequently, she called for sisters to
assist Catholic Relief Services with the people of Cambodia, and she
herself volunteered to assist the people of the Philippines in 1985.
Olivia would not want us to talk about her sense of humor; her love of
dancing, basketball and tennis; her passion for reading; her spirit of
humility; her unconditional love for Saint Mary’s College students who
knew her; her ready laughter and flexibility. So, we won’t!
Called to leadership of the congregation at the general level in 1968,
the youngest member of Mother Olivette’s council, she went on to serve as
first assistant for Kathleen Anne Nelligan and then was elected superior
general in 1979. Those were years of being midwife to the congregation,
moving us through the labor pains of post Vatican II renewal, helping us
as a congregation and as individuals to drink deeply from the wellspring
of spirituality, and listening with healing attentiveness to the pain and
suffering that were a part of this time. She co-labored with Father
Barrosse in helping us move to a new understanding and appreciation of
Father Moreau, and over and over in these past months she expressed her
gratitude to God for the gift of being present for his beatification.
A short sabbatical at Weston School of Theology preceded her years in
the Home Health Agency, Raymondville, Texas, and in Salt Lake City, first
as vice president of mission at Holy Cross Hospital and then as
spiritual/pastoral minister at St. Vincent de Paul Parish, where she
continued to midwife new life in the Spirit for individuals and for
groups. God gave to Olivia a profound gift for spiritual direction. As she
herself looked at Jesus, looking at her with love and tenderness, she was
able to look into the hearts of those with whom she walked, and she helped
them to discover a new depth of God’s love and mercy. So many of us will
miss this – her own gift of being eyes, ears, voice and heart of Christ.
For many she was able to affirm their goodness, offer a challenge and
encourage self-confidence.
These last years at Saint Mary’s she has continued to share generously
these gifts of herself, especially in her ministry with our sisters at Our
Lady Queen of Peace. Here she continued to grow in her understanding of
the spirituality of the cross and the depth of meaning found in living the
Paschal Mystery.
Olivia was particularly conscious of a sense of urgency that the next
General Chapter is a religious experience that can usher in a new era of
hope, an important birth moment for the future of Holy Cross. Even though
she felt that she would be participating in Chapter from a different
vantage point, she prayed a great deal about her responsibility to speak
of her concerns and hopes for it. A month ago in conversation about
Chapter she said that one desire was for a growth in biblical spirituality
for our congregation.
To grasp the essence of this holy woman, we can say that she lived her personal
core values until she died: love and the cross.
She was rooted in the Word, refreshed by Living Water and lived as sign
of hope and of faith. And now it is time for her to be birthed into new
life.
All will be well. All will be well.
All manner of things will be well!
Written by Sister Rose Anne Schultz, CSC, and Sister
Rachel Anne Callahan, CSC
Also read the homily
by Father Ken Molinaro, 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.
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