SISTER MARY DONALD CUSICK, SC, age 100, died at Caritas Christi, the motherhouse of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill in Greensburg, on November 6, 2015. A Pittsburgh native, Sister Mary Donald entered the congregation of the Sisters of Charity on September 8, 1933, from St. Stephen Parish, Hazelwood. Preceded in death by her parents William and Nora (Butler) Cusick, four brothers, William, Joseph, Donald, and Thomas, and a sister Mary, she is survived by a niece and a nephew. She earned a bachelor’s degree in education from Duquesne University and a master’s degree in English from the University of Pittsburgh. Sister Mary Donald’s ministry in education extended more than 35 years as teacher and principal in schools of the Pittsburgh Diocese and the Archdiocese of Washington. For another fifteen years, she served as supervisor of elementary schools staffed by the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill and eventually of other schools in the dioceses of Pittsburgh and Greensburg. Sister Mary Donald became active from 1989 to 1995 with SOAR (Support Our Aging Religious) and later volunteered her services in the finance department of the Sisters of Charity. Dedicated and indefatigable, Sister Mary Donald became the first recipient of the Distinguished Ministry in Catholic Education Award in1994. In reflecting on her life, Sister Mary Donald wrote, “I have loved my work, my students and all who have in any way influenced me. I am indebted to my family who gave me my first love of God, to my community who enriched this gift over many years and to God who has blessed me with His love.”
