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M E D I A R E L E A S E
DATE: May 8, 2008
CONTACT: Amy H. Smessaert, Communications Director
amys@cscsisters.org
(574) 284-5728
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Sister Olivia Marie Hutcheson, Former Holy
Cross Superior and Healthcare Leader, Dies
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Notre Dame, Ind.– Sister Olivia Marie Hutcheson, CSC, 90, former
superior general of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Cross,
died at 9:25 p.m. on Tuesday, May 6, 2008, at Saint Mary’s after an
illness. Sister served with distinction in the congregation’s general
administration from 1967 to 1984, first as a member of the leadership team
of her congregation and then as its president.
“There are many wonderful things that could be said about Sister
Olivia Marie in her long years of leadership and service to the
congregation, but it was her deep spirituality that permeated all that she
did and radiated from her person,” said Sister Joy O’Grady, CSC,
president of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Cross. “She
loved people in her kind and gentle way and people responded to her in
love.”
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Sister Olivia Marie
Hutcheson, CSC
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Sister Olivia Marie’s leadership skills were evident from the
beginning of her career in hospital ministry. In 1942 she launched her 10
years as nursing supervisor in Holy Cross-sponsored hospitals in Boise,
Idaho; Salt Lake City, Utah; and Fresno, California. After those years of
outstanding service she was appointed hospital administrator at Saint
Alphonsus Hospital, Boise, Idaho; Holy Cross Hospital, Salt Lake City,
Utah; and then, following a two-year residency program at St. Louis
University in St. Louis, Mo., was assigned to San Fernando, Calif., where
she supervised the building of Holy Cross Hospital.
In 1985 she continued to use her gift of administration at the Valley
Home Agency in Raymondville, Texas, and the following year returned to
Salt Lake City to become the vice president of mission effectiveness at
Holy Cross Hospital.
Her life of ministry took another turn when, in 1989, she joined the
staff at Mary’s Solitude, a house of prayer located in Notre Dame, Ind.
In 1990, at the request of the pastor, Msgr. George Davich, Sister Olivia
Marie gave up her idea of retirement and again returned to Salt Lake City
to take on a position in spiritual formation and ministry development at
St. Vincent de Paul Parish where she won the hearts of many. Filled with
energy and a desire to serve God’s people, she extended her original
agreement to stay for just two years into 12 dynamic years of providing
spiritual strength and guidance to the people of Utah.
In 2002, after 12 years of untiring service at St. Vincent de Paul
Parish, she returned to Saint Mary’s, Notre Dame, Indiana, where she
continued to provide spiritual direction and retreats until her death.
Funeral arrangements for Sister Olivia Marie are as follows: Reception
of the body and wake on Sunday, May 11, 2008, at 4:30 p.m. The Mass
of Resurrection will be celebrated on Monday, May 12, 2008, at 10:30
a.m. All of these ceremonies will take place in the Church of Our Lady of
Loretto at Saint Mary’s, Notre Dame, Ind.
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