Obituary: Croghan, Sp, Margaret Eileen
Age 84
The Vigil Service: Friday, December 14, 2012, 7:00 pm, at Mount St. Joseph, 12 W. 9th Avenue, Spokane, WA, with a reception to follow.
Funeral Mass: Saturday, December 15, 2012, 9:30 a.m., at the same location.
Interment will follow at Holy Cross Cemetery, Spokane, WA.
Hennessey-Smith Funeral Home, Spokane, WA, is in charge of the arrangements.
Eileen was the second of two daughters born to Mabel (Korslund) and Bernard Eugene Croghan on September 23, 1928, in Great Falls, Montana.
When she was growing up, her family lived in Montana and in Omaha, Nebraska.
However, Eileen and her older sister, Mary Jane, were fortunate to attend all but one year of elementary school at St. Mary’s parochial school in Great Falls, MT.
Her parents divorced and her mother married Louis Matz in 1936.
Later, the family moved to the West Coast, living in several towns in Washington and Oregon.
After attending different high schools, Eileen was graduated from Everett High School in Everett, WA, in 1946.
During her last year of high school, she took a part-time job at Providence Hospital in Everett and then applied for admittance to the Columbus School of Nursing, Great Falls, MT.
She earned a diploma in nursing and worked as a nurse for the next five years.
On January 18, 1954, Eileen entered the Sisters of Providence.
She made her first profession on July 18, 1955, and professed her final vows on July 18, 1958.
Her educational background includes: Diploma in Nursing, Columbus Hospital School of Nursing, Great Falls, 1949; Bachelor of Science in Nursing Education, Incarnate Word College, San Antonio, Texas, 1953; Master of Science in Nursing Education, The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C., 1962; M.A.
in Applied Theology from Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, CA, 1980; and numerous administrative, financial and health care management seminars and workshops.
Her ministry engagements were chiefly in the health care field.
Sacred Heart Hospital (now Medical Center), Spokane, WA: surgery department, 1955-58; Director of Nursing In-Service, 1968-73; St. Patrick Hospital, Missoula, MT: School of Nursing Director, 1958-60; Columbus Hospital, Great Falls, MT: Director of Educational Services, 1981-91; Vice President of Nursing and Patient Care Services, 1991-92; St. Ignatius Provincial Administration, Spokane, WA: Provincial Councilor for Health and Social Services 1973-79, Provincial Superior, 1992-99; and member of the Community Life Team, Mount St. Joseph, Spokane, WA., 2002-2007.
Sister Eileen served on several hospital governing boards and was instrumental in developing new forms of health care governance.
She also served on committees at the state and national hospital association level.
She attended numerous conferences and hospital associated conventions where she was often a featured speaker.
Sister Eileen was known and loved for her infectious laugh and sense of humor; and was called on often to share from her repertoire of jokes.
Quietly and often unknown to others, she mentored and helped many persons over the years.
She was a caring and compassionate community member and was devoted to her family.
She cared deeply for her mother, her sister Mary, her nieces and nephews; and she took special care of her father in the last years of his life.
After Sister Eileen’s retirement and move to Emilie Court, she and her sister Mary prayed the Rosary together over the telephone almost every night.
An avid and competitive card player, she also enjoyed building and flying model airplanes, crocheting, embroidering, swimming, gardening, and reading.
She is preceded in death by her parents and her sister and is survived by nieces and nephews.
Memorial contributions may be made in her honor to the Sisters of Providence Retirement Fund, 1801 Lind Avenue SW, #9016, Renton, WA 98057-9016.
To view Sr. M. Eileen’s obituary and picture and to sign her memory book, please visit the website at www.hennesseyfuneralhomes.com.