Sister Marilu Townsend, M.M. celebrated her 60th Jubilee as a Maryknoll Sister on February 12th, 2017. She is from Keokuk, Iowa, entered the Maryknoll Sisters in 1957. After her First Profession, Sister Marilu spent three years at the Center, working in the Records Office and serving as Guest Mistress, before beginning the many dedicated years of study that would prepare her for mission work.
Sister Marilu earned her Bachelor Degree in Chemistry at San Francisco College for Women and then her M.D. at Marquette University. Sister Marilu worked at an Internship at San Joaquin General Hospital, in California, before completing her Residency in Family Practice.
Sister Marilu went on to a General Surgery Residency, and was appointed the Chief Surgery Resident.
It was at this point that Sister Marilu embarked on her first mission outside the continental U.S. to Hawaii, where she worked with eager dedication for eighteen years as an Emergency Room Physician.
Sister Marilu served for several more years in a San Antonio Emergency Room before retiring from medicine and devoting herself to the full-time care of her elderly parents. On her father’s death, she continued to oversee her mother’s care, while serving with the St. Vincent de Paul Conference in St. Pius X Parish, San Antonio.
Today, Sister Marilu remains in San Antonio, where she lives out her missionary vocation by making God’s love visible through tireless volunteer work.