A funeral Mass for Loretto Sister Angela Mary (formerly Sister Stephen Mary) Murphy was celebrated Jan. 20 in the Church of the Seven Dolors on the grounds of Loretto Motherhouse in Nerinx, Kentucky. Sister Angela Mary taught primary grades for more than 20 years in the Archdiocese of St. Louis and continued as a social service volunteer in St. Louis for another 20 years. She died Jan. 16 at Loretto Motherhouse Infirmary. She was 92 and in the 72nd year of her Loretto commitment.
Sister Angela Mary was born March 3, 1929, in Sterling, Illinois, to parents Genevieve (Potts) and Stephen Murphy. She entered the Sisters of Loretto at the Foot of the Cross in 1946 and was received into the congregation on Aug. 15, 1947. She made her first vows Aug. 15, 1949, and her final vows on Aug. 15, 1952. Sister Angela Mary earned a bachelor’s degree in Spanish with minors in English and education in 1957 from Loretto Heights College in Denver.
In her early years as a Loretto, Sister Angie, as she was fondly known, taught elementary grades in Texas and California and high school in Montgomery, Alabama. She was one of the first teachers at Colegio Loreto in La Paz, Bolivia, where she served from 1962-72. Returning from South America, Sister Angie settled in St. Louis. She taught at St. Rose of Lima (1973-76) and Mary, Queen of Peace in Webster Groves (1976-94). After 45 years in the classroom, Sister Angie joined the volunteer staff of the St. Louis social service agency Hosea House, serving there from 1994-97 and again from 2003-06. She volunteered at Southside Catholic Community Services (1997-2002), where she was a receptionist, and at Hi-Pointe Center (2007-14). Sister Angie was known for responding to the needs of the poor and homeless wherever she served. She performed community service at Loretto Center in Webster Groves from 2014-17, when she moved to Loretto Motherhouse. There, she assisted other Loretto Community members and kept in touch with former students and friends in Bolivia until her death. Sister Angie loved Loretto, music, reading, the arts and all things Irish. She was a treasure to the community and to her family.
Burial took place at Our Lady of Sorrows Cemetery on the grounds of Loretto Motherhouse.
