Sr. Margaret “Peggy” Mathewson, CBS, died on April 14, 2024, at her home in Marriottsville, Maryland, at the age of 82 following a lengthy illness. She was born in Woodlyn, Pennsylvania, the oldest of five children. After graduating from Notre Dame High School in Moylan, Pennsylvania, she attended the Camillus School of Practical Nursing in Darby, Pennsylvania, which was run by the Sisters of Bon Secours. While volunteering and working at St. Francis Nursing Home in Darby, she first met the Sisters of Bon Secours, entered the community in 1960 and professed her final vows in 1968.
Sr. Peggy became a registered nurse and held nursing and supervisory positions in Bon Secours facilities in Baltimore, Philadelphia, Michigan and Virginia. Committed to working with the poor, she established a clinic in Baltimore for individuals with Medicaid and individuals without insurance, working very closely with social services to ensure that they received all the services they needed.
Having attended the University of Maryland, Sr. Peggy became certified as an adult nurse practitioner and served in that capacity in several Bon Secours facilities across the country. While working with the Sisters of Mercy in Detroit, Michigan, Sr. Peggy developed a geriatric assessment center, having received a certification in Gerontology from St. Mary’s of the Woods College in Indiana. In the 1990s, Sr. Peggy served as coordinator of Marian Hall, the retirement home for the Sisters of Bon Secours in Marriottsville, Maryland.
In 1998, Sr. Peggy moved to Norfolk, Virginia, and created a program at Bon Secours DePaul Hospital for elderly patients with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. She joined Long Term Care of Virginia in 2006, where she visited nursing homes, assisted living facilities and patients’ homes. She was a board member of the Bon Secours DePaul Hospital Foundation and served as its president in 2003. Sr. Peggy retired in 2011.
“Since I entered the Sisters of Bon Secours, I wanted to be a nurse and make a difference in the lives of those I came in contact with. Serving the sick and dying has been a wonderful life-giving experience for me. Throughout my nursing career, I loved working with individuals, getting to know them and their families and listening to their stories. Nursing is a vocation, not ‘just a job.’ There were many fun times too, like being part of a motorcycle gang, The Pink Riders, to raise money for a new mammogram machine in Norfolk, Virginia,” Sr. Peggy said in a recent reflection.
Sr. Peggy served on many Congregation committees and chaired the Provincial General Assembly in 1984, 1992 and 1995. She was also the liaison sister with the Baltimore Associates and worked with the Associates and the Formation Team over the years.
Area Leader for the Sisters of Bon Secours, USA, Sr. Elaine Davia said, “Sr. Peggy’s work with those who were poor and elderly made a difference in the lives of so many people. We will remember her for her commitment to her patients and her love for the field of gerontology, but most especially for her gentle care and positive approach to life. She will be missed.”
A Mass of Resurrection will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, April 19, in the Sisters of Bon Secours Chapel at the Bon Secours Retreat and Conference Center at 1525 Marriottsville Road, Marriottsville, Maryland. There will be a sharing of memories at 10:15 a.m. prior to Mass. Burial will be at a later time. In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory can be made to the Sisters of Bon Secours ministries.
Sr. Peggy was predeceased by her parents Richard and Anna Mathewson and her brothers, Richard J. and Edward J .Mathewson. She is survived by her Bon Secours community, her sisters Catherine Hildick and Maryann Basara, ten nieces and nephews, many great nieces and nephews, and five great-great nieces.
Obituaries for clergy and religious who have lived or served in the Archdiocese of Detroit may be emailed to [email protected]. Obituaries are printed as they are submitted, but may be edited for grammar and style. Detroit Catholic reserves the right to refuse or edit any submissions.
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