Aston, PA-Sister Anna McLaughlin, OSF, (formerly Sister Josefa), died in St. Ann Convent, Tacoma, on February 1. She was 104 years old and had been a professed member of the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia for 82 years. Sister Anna was born in Duncan, Oregon, and later moved to Pendleton, Oregon. Prior to her entrance into the congregation in 1925, she had begun nurses’ training at St.Anthony Hospital in Pendleton. She earned her R.N. in Nursing and graduated during her first year in the congregation. She professed her first vows in Pendleton in 1928 and ministered in healthcare as a nurse in both Oregon and Washington.
Sister Anna ministered for 27 years in the Archdiocese of Seattle. She worked as a nurse at St. Joseph Hospital in Tacoma. In 1992 she moved to St. Ann Convent in Tacoma where she served in prayer ministry until her death.
Sister Anna ministered for 54 years in the Diocese of Baker, Oregon. Twenty-five of those years were spent serving at St. Anthony Hospital in Pendleton. She worked for twenty years at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Baker and for nine years at St. Joseph Hospital in LaGrande.
Sister Anna also ministered for a short time at St. Joseph Orphanage in Spokane Washington.
All services will be held at St. Ann Convent, 6602 S. Alaska Street, Tacoma, WA 98408. Mass of Christian Burial will be on Saturday, February 7, at 11 A.M. Sister Anna is survived by nieces, nephews, and cousins, and by her Franciscan family. Donations in her name can be made to Franciscan Ministries Foundation, 609 S. Convent Road, Aston, PA 19014.
