Aston, PA—Sister Patricia Jane Walsh, OSF, (85) died in Assisi House on August 12, 2021. She had been a professed member of the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia for 35 years. Sister Patricia was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where she was a graduate of Roosevelt High School. When she entered the congregation in 1983, she was a member of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Spokane, Washington. She professed her first vows in 1986.  She earned an associate degree in social work from Spokane Falls Community College and a BA from Pacific Lutheran University in 1994. She ministered primarily in social service work.

Sister Patricia ministered for 13 years in the Diocese of Seattle, where she served as a volunteer at Franciscan Hospice House and as a counselor at the Martin Luther King Center in Tacoma.  Her four years in the Diocese of San Diego were spent as a social worker at the St. Vincent de Paul-Joan Kroc Center.  Sister Patricia moved to Assisi House in 2016 and served in prayer and hospitality ministry until her death.

During Sister Patricia’s 11 years in Ireland, she served as an addiction counselor at Cuan Mhuire in Athy, Co. Kildare; as a counselor at Our Lady’s Hermitage in Athlone, Co. Westmeath; and as a volunteer at Forthspring Intercommunity Group in Belfast.

All services will be at Assisi House, Wednesday, August 18. Viewing at 9:30 A.M. followed by Mass of Christian Burial at 11 A.M. Internment of her cremated remains will be in Our Lady of Angels Cemetery in Aston. Sister Patricia is survived by her brother, Owen Walsh; her sister, Kathleen Walsh; her sister, Rosemarie Stemper; and nieces and nephews, and by her Franciscan family. Donations in her name can be made to the Sisters of St. Francis Foundation, 609 S. Convent Road, Aston, PA 19014.

To read a more personal memorial write-up on Sister Patricia, click here.

Sister Patricia was featured in the winter 2014 Good News for her hospice work.  Read here