Aston, PA — Sister Mary Ruth Thomas, OSF, (formerly Sister John Stephen), 100, died at Assisi House on Sunday, November 8, 2026. She had been a professed member of the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia for 77 years. Born in Garden City, Alabama, Sister Mary Ruth was a member of Sacred Heart Parish and a graduate of Sacred Heart Academy, both located in Cullman. She entered the congregation in 1947 and professed her first vows in 1950. She earned an RN from St. Joseph’s Hospital School of Nursing in Philadelphia, a BSN in Nursing from Villanova University, an MS in Nursing Administration from St. John’s University in New York, and an MS in Pastoral Care from Loyola University Maryland. She ministered primarily in healthcare and nursing education, dedicating much of her religious life to caring for others and preparing future generations of nurses.

Sister Mary Ruth began her ministry as a medical and surgical nurse at St. Joseph Hospital in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia before devoting many years to nursing education. She taught for eight years at St. Agnes Hospital in Philadelphia, then served for three years as director of nursing education at St. Joseph Hospital in Reading, in the Diocese of Allentown. She continued teaching nursing for three years at St. Joseph Hospital in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, followed by another three years as a nursing instructor and coordinator of the freshman nursing program at St. Joseph Hospital in Lancaster, in the Diocese of Harrisburg.

In 1971, Sister Mary Ruth returned to St. Agnes Hospital in Philadelphia, where she spent seven years helping establish and operate Medi-Call, a mobile outreach program providing preventive health education and screenings to underserved communities. She then spent a year at St. Joseph Hospital in Baltimore, working to help develop a similar program. Her subsequent ministries included parish ministry at St. Edward’s Parish in the Diocese of Charleston, South Carolina, and more than a decade of nursing at St. Luke Institute in the Archdiocese of Washington. She later served for five years as school nurse at The Catholic High School of Baltimore.

Following her retirement from nursing, Sister Mary Ruth continued her life of service, spending a combined 18 years volunteering at the Franciscan Center in the Archdiocese of Baltimore and St. Francis House in Tacoma, Washington, in the Archdiocese of Seattle. In 2010, she moved to St. Ann’s, the congregation’s retirement residence in Tacoma, before relocating to Assisi House in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in 2017. At both residences, she continued her ministry of prayer and hospitality until her death.

All services will be held at Assisi House on Tuesday, November 17, 2026, and will be livestreamed. A Prayer Service will be held at 9:30 A.M., followed by a Funeral Liturgy, which will be celebrated at 11 A.M. Internment of Ashes will follow in Our Lady of Angels Cemetery in Aston. Sister Mary Ruth is survived by her brother, Edward Curtis Thomas Jr., and his wife, Martha; her sister, Rita Thomas; numerous nieces and nephews; and her Franciscan family. Memorial donations may be made to the Sisters of St. Francis Foundation, 609 S. Convent Road, Aston, PA 19014.

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The livestream will begin on Tuesday, November 17 at 9:30 A.M. View