Sister Margaret Philomena Gannon, I.H.M. (Sister Mary Anina) (June 2, 1937–October 24, 2022)

Abstract

Sister Margaret Philomena Gannon, I.H.M. (Sister Mary Anina) (June 2, 1937–October 24, 2022) Margaret M. McGuinness Click for larger view View full resolution Sister Margaret Gannon, I.H.M. (Sister Mary Anina), died October 24, 2022, at Our Lady of Peace Residence, Scranton, Pennsylvania. Until her retirement in 2014, she had been a faculty member in the Department of Social Sciences at Marywood University in Scranton. She is survived by two brothers, several nieces and nephews, and members of her religious congregation. Margaret Philomena Gannon was born in Brooklyn, New York, on June 2, 1937, to John and Josephine Gannon. In 1956, during her freshman year at what was then Marywood College, she entered the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Scranton), and professed her final vows on August 15, 1963. Sister Margaret received a B.A. in history and English from Marywood, and later earned a M.A. and Ph.D. in history from St. John’s University, New York. Prior to joining the faculty at Marywood, Sister Margaret served in several elementary and high schools, including Holy Angels (Pittsburgh), Our Lady Queen of Martyrs (Forest Hills, New York), and St. Joseph’s High School (Williamsport, PA). [End Page 240] In addition to her work as a tenured professor of history at Marywood University, Sister Margaret held the positions of dean of the Undergraduate School for Women, coordinator of diversity efforts, and chair of the Social Science Department; she also founded the women’s studies minor at the university. Sister Margaret was awarded membership in Marywood’s Order Cor Mariae–Pro Fide et Cultura in recognition of her service and dedication to the university. Sister Margaret was especially interested in the life and work of Sister Theresa Maxis Duchemin, I.H.M., a founding member of both the Oblate Sisters of Providence (OSP) and the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. During the second half of the nineteenth century, the IHM’s erased the role Maxis, a Black sister, played in their establishment and history. As the three IHM congregations began to reclaim their history during the latter decades of the twentieth century, however, Sister Margaret (along with other members of the congregations) was instrumental in correcting the narrative to include Sister Theresa Maxis as one of the congregations’ founders. Paths of Daring Deeds of Hope: Letters By and About Theresa Maxis Duchemin (independently published, 2022) and Pilgrim: Let Your Heart Be Bold: Mother Theresa Maxis Duchemin, IHM (independently published 2018) lead to a better historical understanding of both Mother Theresa Maxis and the founding of the three congregations of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Along with her academic and administrative responsibilities, in 1995 Sister Margaret helped found the African Sisters Education Collaborative (ASEC), an organization that helps to educate African women religious planning to teach in their local communities. Sister Margaret participated in the ASEC’s first service trip to Tanzania and served as a board member for many years. After her 2014 retirement from Marywood University, Sister Margaret volunteered for Catholic Relief Services as a refugee resettlement volunteer and served on the board of directors of the United Neighborhood Centers of Northeast Pennsylvania. She was a prayer minister at Our Lady of Peace Residence from 2021 until her death. Sister Margaret Gannon, I.H.M., devoted her life to her students, her congregation, and social justice. May she rest in peace. [End Page 241] Margaret M. McGuinness La Salle University Copyright © 2023 The Catholic University of America Press ...