Sr. Elizabeth Mary Burns R.S.M

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Sister Elizabeth Mary Burns, RSM, transitioned peacefully to her heavenly home surrounded by her Sisters at St. Bernadine Home in Fremont, OH, on Saturday, August 10, 2024. She was born March 3, 1927, in Estherville, IA, the daughter of Bernard Aloysius and Viola Carolyn (Brennan) Burns. 

  When she was nineteen, she followed her heart’s calling, leaving home and traveling to Detroit where she became a member of the Sisters of Mercy. After her six years of religious formation, she served for the next forty-six years in hospitals as a nursing supervisor, as Director of a hospital of nursing, as Dean of a Baccalaureate nursing program, and President and Chief Executive Officer of a 500-bed newly merged hospital, as coordinator of the planning services for the Sisters, and as a member of the Sisters of Mercy leadership team of the Detroit Province for twelve years.

 In addition, she authored “Beyond Measure: A Legacy of Mercy, the Sisters of Mercy in Health Care, 1879 – 1976” on the early history of the Sisters of Mercy in health care in Iowa and Michigan, in her words, “with a view toward identifying those characteristics which sustained their endeavors and which are still needed today.”

 Sister moved to Saint Bernardine Retirement Convent for the Mercy Sisters in Fremont, Ohio, in 2022. There she shared the gift of her helpfulness by daily reading to a Sister who is blind and often leading prayers for the Community, while also spreading fun and joy with her almost daily jokes and stories she got from the internet. 

 There will be a welcoming service Monday, August 19 at 4:00 p.m. at St. Bernardine Home, Fremont, with visitation until 7:00 p.m. The funeral Mass will be Tuesday, August 20 at 11:00 a.m. at St. Bernardine’s with burial at Our Lady of the Pines Cemetery. Live streaming of the Welcome Ceremony and Mass will be viewable by clicking the link above her obituary. Online condolences may be expressed at www.hermafh.com

Funeral arrangements are under the care of Herman-Karlovetz Funeral Home & Crematory, 900 North Street, Fremont, OH 43420