Ossining, N.Y., Nov. 24, 2025 – Sister Jane Heckathorn, M.M., a Maryknoll sister known for her sense of humor and flair for storytelling, died on Nov. 10, 2025, surrounded by her Maryknoll family. She was 89. 

Marie Jane Heckathorn was born on August 2, 1936, to Leonard T. and Lavina Kranz Heckathorn in Watertown, South Dakota; she had two sisters and one brother, both of whom have predeceased her.  She graduated from Watertown High School in 1954, after which she received her certificate as an X-Ray technician in 1957 from Minneapolis General Hospital, a program of the University of Minnesota. She worked as an x-ray technician in South Dakota for seven years before entering Maryknoll in 1963. She pronounced first vows on June 24, 1966, at Maryknoll, N.Y., and final vows on April 9, 1975, in the Philippines. 

Sr. Jane was assigned to the Philippines in 1966, where she worked in various health services in Manila and in Cotabato in the southern island of Mindanao. In 1972, she completed a Bachelor of Science degree in social work from the Centro Escolar University in Manila. She then worked in social and community development in Mindanao with a diverse population of Muslims, Christians and native tribes. Sr. Jane also helped in the resettlement and care of displaced persons, as well as doing outreach health care for women’s groups in nutrition, childcare and hygiene at the Notre Dame Clinic in Dulawan, Maguindanao.  

Between 1974 and 1978, Sr. Jane worked in various capacities at Notre Dame Schools in Cotabato, as teacher, acting principal, acting treasurer and as a professional development provider. She also helped to develop programs for victims of an earthquake and tsunami, which hit the region during this time. 

Sr. Jane then returned to the United States, and from 1979 until 2011, she found her ministry on the West Coast of the United States, primarily in Oakland, Calif. She was executive producer of the award-winning program, “Video Edition,” a weekly television news magazine of the Oakland diocesan newspaper, The Catholic Voice. For Casa Vicentia, a home in Oakland for single pregnant women in crisis, Sr. Jane served as a social worker, counselor, newsletter editor and assistant director. She also was on the administrative staff of Sophia Institute, a graduate program in Culture and Spirituality at Holy Names University. 

After her retirement in 2011, Sr. Jane stayed in California until her declining health brought her back to the Maryknoll Center in Ossining in 2022, where she passed away.  

A wake for Sr. Jane Heckathorn was held on Nov. 17, 2025, in the Annunciation Chapel on the grounds of Maryknoll Sisters in Ossining, N.Y. A Mass of the Resurrection was said on Nov. 18, 2025, also in the Annunciation Chapel. 

Ossining, N.Y., Oct. 10, 2025 – Sister Lilla Hull, M.M., a Maryknoll sister known for her work for contemplative communities, died on Sept. 19, 2025, surrounded by her Maryknoll family. She was 105.

Lilla Marie Hull was born on May 11, 1920, in Glencoe, Illinois, the second of five children of Loretta Cassidy and Sanford William Hull. Her oldest sister, Alice, married Bob Lynch, and Lilla’s three younger siblings: Sanford (Sandy) John Hull married Helen Moloney, Betty married Michael Gillespie, and James (Jim) Hull married Evelyn.

On Dec. 7, 1939, Sr. Lilla entered Maryknoll, and when she became a novice in 1940, she received the name Sr. Miriam Angela. On June 30, 1942, Sr. Lilla made her First Profession of Vows and her Final Vows in 1945. On Oct. 15, 1946, she entered the Contemplative Community at Maryknoll. After Vatican II, she reverted to her baptismal name, Lilla Marie Hull.

Around this time, Sr. Lilla, together with leaders in other contemplative communities, helped launch the Association of Contemplative Sisters throughout the United States. Also, in the Archdiocese of New York, Sr. Lilla was influential in the establishment of the Metropolitan Association of Contemplative Communities, of which she was the first president. For the next five decades, Sr. Lilla helped begin the Houses of Prayer on the East Coast; was founder and coordinator of the first cloister outside of Maryknoll, a prayer presence among the Navajo People in New Mexico; was part of Maryknoll’s contemplative community in Guatemala; and was a spiritual directress in New York for sisters and lay people.

In August 2017, Sr. Lilla’s health was declining; however, she continued to keep ties with the Contemplative Community. In 2019, Sr. Lilla celebrated her 80 years in Maryknoll with all the Maryknoll Sisters Jubilarians in Main Chapel. She led the procession at the beginning of the Jubilee Mass, and literally danced up the aisle. For the next six years, she was lovingly cared for by her Maryknoll family, nurses and aides as her health continued to decline.

Sr. Lilla is survived by many loving nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews. Her siblings and their spouses all predeceased Sr. Lilla.

A wake for Sr. Lilla Hull was held on Sept. 30 in the Annunciation Chapel on the grounds of Maryknoll Sisters in Ossining, N.Y. A Mass of the Resurrection was held on Oct. 1 also in the Annunciation Chapel

Ossining, N.Y., Sept. 30, 2025 – Sister Theresa Ann Mallmann, M.M., a Maryknoll sister known for her motherly compassion, died on Sept. 15, 2025, the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. She was 93.

Sr. Ann, as she was known in recent years, was born on December 18, 1931, in Detroit, Michigan. She was the fifth and last child of Louis Anthony Mallman and Josephine Quaiatto Mallman. She is predeceased by her parents and siblings.

After being graduated from St. Bernard’s High School in 1949, Sr. Ann studied nursing at Mt. Carmel School of Nursing at Mercy Hospital, Detroit, becoming a registered nurse in 1956. Later, she earned a bachelor’s degree in science in nursing at Pace University.

Sr. Ann entered the Maryknoll Sisters, at Maryknoll, New York, on Sept. 2, 1959, and made her first profession of vows on June 24, 1962. She received the name Sister John Anthony.

In 1963, she was assigned to the Taiwan Region, where she made her final profession in 1968. She remained in Taiwan until 1972, enthusiastically tackling demanding work among the Chinese and Aboriginal People in Wu-She, Nantou, Hsien, a remote and isolated mountainous area. She organized a clinic, gave pastoral care and set up a kindergarten for children. However, while there, she became ill and returned to New York to recover her health and update her studies.

Deciding to remain in the United States, Sr. Ann worked in New York City and later with the Sinsinawa Dominicans in Wisconsin as a holistic health educator and therapist, serving the local and Native American communities until Covid struck in 2020. At this time, she returned to the Maryknoll Center in Ossining, and in early 2021 was seriously injured in a fall. Sr. Ann remained at the Center until her death.

A wake for Sr. Ann Mallmann was held on Sept. 25 in the Annunciation Chapel on the grounds of Maryknoll Sisters in Ossining, N.Y. A Mass of the Resurrection was held on Sept. 26 also in the Annunciation Chapel.

Ossining, N.Y., Sept. 30, 2025 – Sister Rose Lauren Earl, M.M., a Maryknoll sister known for her lovely, gentle personality, died on Sept. 16, 2025, surrounded by Maryknoll sisters and aides. She was 96.

Sister Rose Lauren Earl was born Wilma Joan Earl on November 8, 1928, to Frank and Wilhelmina (Minnie) Earl in New Albany, Indiana. Her brother, Joseph, and her sister, Mary, have pre-deceased her.

After graduating New Albany High School in 1947, Sr. Rose Lauren studied accounting before entering Maryknoll Sisters on September 6, 1950, at Maryknoll, N.Y., where she made her first vows on March 7, 1953, receiving the name Rose Lauren. She made final vows there on March 7, 1959. A year later, she received her bachelor’s degree in education in June 1960.

It was at this time that Sr. Rose Lauren began her lifelong engagement in the Pacific Islands, from Hawaii to Majuro in the Marshall Islands. Here she taught, served as school principal and set up a teacher-training program with lecturers from the University of Hawaii, which had tremendous, far-reaching effects on education throughout the islands.

In 1978, she became involved with Natural Family Planning efforts, a ministry that would remain central to the rest of her life and work in Hawaii, as well as serving in various capacities in her original study area of accounting for the next 30 years. In 2008, Sr. Rose Lauren returned to the center to work in the Treasury Department, where she created a sense of teamwork and peace that spread joy throughout the department. After retiring, she spent time visiting with ill and elderly sisters, bringing joy to all of them.

A wake for Sr. Rose Lauren Earl was held on Sept. 22 in the Annunciation Chapel on the grounds of Maryknoll Sisters in Ossining, N.Y. A Mass of the Resurrection was held on Sept. 23 also in the Annunciation Chapel.

Maryknoll, NY: Sister Patricia Edmiston, M.M., a Maryknoll sister known for her joy and her smile, died on Aug. 26, 2025, with her dear friend, Sr. Ann Hayden, M.M., at her bedside. She was 80 years old.

Sr. Pat spent the majority of her ministry in Central America, having worked alongside the people of Nicaragua, Panama and El Salvador from 1974 until 2001, developing health programs and leadership training. Throughout her life as a missionary, she welcomed everyone she met with a joyful, open heart.

“We experienced her as an open and supportive community member to each sister,” said Sr. Teresa Hougnon, M.M., president of Maryknoll Sisters. “She was committed to accompanying the people as they lived through the war in Nicaragua and beyond.”

Patricia Ann Edmiston was born on April 10, 1945, to Marcus Morton and Josephine Brown Edmiston. She grew up with two brothers, James and Mark, and a sister, Kathy. She attended St. Denis elementary school in Yonkers, N.Y., and graduated from Yonkers High School in June 1963. She got her licensed practical nursing certificate from Grasslands School in 1967 and her registered nursing degree in 1972 from Bronx Community College.

Feeling the need for “something more,” Pat applied to the Maryknoll Sisters in 1972. “I think that Maryknoll’s mission is the bring the living Christ to the world,” she wrote. “My participation is by aiding in the physical as well as spiritual needs of people.”

Pat entered Maryknoll in St. Louis on Aug. 24, 1972, and made her first profession in Managua, Nicaragua on April 29, 1973. She professed her final vows on Aug. 1, 1981, in Ciudad Sandino, Managua, Nicaragua.

Her lifelong engagement in Central America began in 1974, doing health promotion in Pueblo Nuevo outside of Managua. After a short placement in Panama training young educated women for ministry, she realized her true calling was in health. And so, she directed health programs in El Salvador, Nicaragua and at the Maryknoll Center in Ossining for the next 20 years. From 1997 until 2001, Sr. Pat conducted

leadership training in Jinotepe, Nicaragua. As always, her heartfelt encouragement and sense of fun called local leaders to new levels of service and commitment.

Between 2001 and 2015, Sr. Pat served as administrator of the Maryknoll Sisters Home Care, director of Nursing Service, and was appointed to the Office of Audio-Visual Technology. Afterward, she was assigned in 2016 to the Eastern Region, where she and Sr. Ann Hayden, M.M., offered support to the immigrant population in Penitas, Texas, until health issues brought them back to the Center in 2021. Sr. Pat’s health steadily declined until her death on Aug. 25, 2025.

She is survived by her brother and sister-in-law Mark and Winnie Edmiston of Madison, Conn., a niece and nephew, and her sister Kathy Edmiston. She was predeceased by her brother James Edmiston.

A wake for Sr. Pat Edmiston was held on Sept. 2 in the Annunciation Chapel on the grounds of Maryknoll Sisters in Ossining, N.Y. A Mass of Resurrection was said on Sept. 3 also in the Annunciation Chapel.

Maryknoll, NY: Sister Rose Andree Krieger died on June 20, 2025 at the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Maryknoll, NY. She was 102 years old and a Maryknoll Sister for 76 years.

On July 6, 1922, Agnes Marie Krieger was born in St. Louis, MO to Agnes (Touzinsky) Krieger and John J. Krieger.  She had one brother, Dr. John L. Krieger and one sister, Sr. Mary Grace Krieger, MM, all have predeceased her; many nieces and nephews survive her.

From 1936 to 1940, Agnes Marie attended Xavier High School in St. Louis, MO.   She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Education from Harris Teacher School in 1945.  She taught for three years in the public-school system, and at that same time, she and her sister Mary Grace were involved with many and varied local church activities.

She entered the Maryknoll Sisters at Maryknoll, NY on September 6, 1948 from St. Mary Magdalen Church in the Archdiocese of St. Louis. At reception on March 7, 1949, Agnes received the name Rose Andree, which she kept until her death.    She pronounced her First Profession of Vows on March 7, 1951 in Maryknoll, NY and her Final Vows on March 7, 1954 in Chile.

In 1951, Rose Andree began her long and loving relationship with the country and people of Chile. She began in Galvarino, the sisters’ first mission in Chile—she taught there for four years before moving to the new boys’ school in Temuco, where she also served as superior.  A big change came in 1966 when Rose was assigned to Santiago doing catechetical and pastoral work–she loved it, and she was a natural.

Throughout her life in ministry and community, Rose Andree, lovingly called Ma Rose by the sisters, was noted for her kindness and care for the sisters.

In 1967, another dimension of mission opened up for Rose Andree when she was named to the Archdiocesan Council of Religious.

After four years serving on promotion in the Kansas City area, Rose Andree went to Salamanca, Chile in 1980 where she once again threw herself into pastoral work; she was deeply involved in the Cursillo movement there.

In 1993, Rose Andree discerned that it was time to return to the United States—she had bronchial issues, which were exacerbated by the cold and smog in Chile, and her Associate Sister Community member left the mission at the end of her contract. At that time, the Congregation planned to open a small community in Waterbury, Connecticut, and Rose Andree quickly decided to join it.  With her skills in Spanish, Rose Andree quickly found a ministry in two local Hispanic parishes—catechetical work, home visiting and preparation for confirmation filled her days.  This described “retirement” for Rose Andree.

In 2002, Rose Andree returned to Maryknoll, NY and was assigned to the Center—Main House, which is now called the Chi Rho Community. She helped throughout the house, visiting with sisters, leading prayer services and serving as a Eucharistic minister. When she needed more assistance, she asked to transfer to the Eden Community in February 2012. One great blessing in these years was the accompaniment of Rose Andree’s sister, Mary Grace, who was also living at the Center until she died in July 2024.

Funeral Services:

A Vespers Service was held for Sister Rose Andree Krieger on July 2, 2025 at 4:15 p.m. in the Chapel of the Annunciation at the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Maryknoll, NY.

A Memorial Mass was held on July 3, 2025 at 10:30 A.M. at the Maryknoll Sisters Center.

Maryknoll, NY: Sister Catherine “Katie” Erisman, M.M. died on april 23, 2025 at the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Maryknoll, NY. She was 94 years old and a Maryknoll Sister for 71 years.

On June 7, 1930, Catherine Jane Erisman was born in Framingham, MA to William and Mary P. O’Connell Erisman.    She had three sisters; her sister Ann Garrahan, nieces, and nephews survive her.

From 1944-1948 Sister Katie attended Greenfield High School in Greenfield, MA.   Katie began studies at Boston Children’s Hospital School of Nursing, and she graduated in October 1951. After working at this same hospital for one year, she began studies at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. and attained her B.S. in Nursing in June 1954.

She entered the Maryknoll Sisters at Maryknoll, NY from Sr. Joseph’s Parish in Needham, MA.  She pronounced her First Profession of Vows on March 7, 1957 in Maryknoll, NY and her Final Vows on March 7, 1963 in Africa.

Shortly after professing her First Vows in 1957, she received her first mission assignment to Morogoro, Tanzania.  Although being well prepared for health ministry with her BS in Nursing, she was assigned to be a teacher, first at Marian College in Morogoro, then Rosary College in Mwanza and then Rugambwa Secondary School in Bukoba where she was also Headmistress from 1965 to 1968.  In 1969, as religious schools were being nationalized, Katie entered government service and taught at Machame Girls’ Secondary School, and in 1975, became one of the founding members of Nangwa Girls’ School, an experimental school.

After more than 20 years as an educator, she returned to Maryknoll, NY, to work in Congregational Health Services and was named Congregation Health Director.  Completing that commitment, she had a calling to work among refugees and worked six months with Save the Children in Sudan.  At the request of Maryknoll Sisters in Africa, she researched the refugee situation, needs and possibilities for mission among them. She visited the refugee camps in western Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Sudan and Somalia.  The results of that research led her to Somalia where, together with a team of Maryknoll Sisters, she served as a nurse in eight refugee camps from 1987 to 1989.

In 1990, Katie helped staff the World Section House in Nairobi for two years and then went to Mwanza where she was a member of the HIV & AIDS Program of the Archdiocese.   Refugee work called once again and she served eight years, first as Administrator and then as Tanzania Country Director of the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) in 1995-2002.  During those years with JRS was with Rwandan and Burundian refugees as this program was established to serve those victims of the genocide who were living in camps in western Tanzania.  Katie used her gifts of administration and organization to set up all that was needed for staff and volunteers to minister to those displaced individuals and their families.

Sister Katie returned the Maryknoll, NY in 2004 and in 2007 returned to Tanzania and participated in the Mwanza Diocesan HIV & AIDS Program while writing the history of the Maryknoll Sisters in Tanzania.  In 2013 she returned to Maryknoll Sisters Center as Rogers Community Coordinator until 2015.  Then, she semi-retired but offered her countless gifts in many ways.  She was an amazing woman.

In 2024, when her health started to fail, Katie was assigned to the Eden Community. There she received the care she needed from the home care staff.  Sister Katie has so generously donated her body to science.

Funeral Services:

A Vespers Service was held for Sister Catherine Erisman on May 13, 2025 at 4:15 p.m. in the Chapel of the Annunciation at the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Maryknoll, NY.

A Mass of Resurrection was held on May 14, 2025 at 10:00 A.M. at the Maryknoll Sisters Center.