A Mass of Christian Burial for Sister of Charity of Cincinnati Mary Cecilia Eagen was celebrated Nov. 23 in the Immaculate Conception Chapel at the congregation’s Delhi Township Motherhouse. Sister Mary Cecilia, 89, died Nov. 17 at Mother Margaret Hall. 

A native of Smith Creek, Mich., Sister Mary Cecilia devoted her life and ministry to health care. She earned bachelor’s degrees in science and nursing from the College of Mount St. Joseph; a master’s in nursing administration from Catholic University in Washington, D.C.; and a doctorate from the University of Ann Arbor. 

In the archdiocese, Sister Mary Cecilia served as pediatric nursing supervisor at Good Samaritan Hospital in Dayton from 1947-1954, before moving to Colorado to continue her ministry. In the 1970s, Sister Mary Cecilia became increasingly interested in hospice care. In 1974 she became a professor at Madonna University in Livonia, Mich., where she worked to design the first bachelor’s and master’s degrees programs in hospice education. For more than 20 years, she served as director of hospice education for the university’s College of Nursing and Health. She also helped create the Michigan Hospice Nurses Association and the Academy of Hospice Nurses, an international organization for which she served as president. Among the recognition Sister Mary Cecilia received was the Mother Seton Award from the Sisters of Charity in 1997. She moved to Mother Margaret Hall in 2005. 

Sister Mary Cecilia is survived by her sister, Madeline O’Connor. Interment was in the Sisters of Charity Cemetery.