Sister Anna "Nancy" Griffin, RSM

Anna “Nancy” Griffin (whose religious name was Mary Valerie) a Sister of Mercy for 72 years died peacefully on June 17, 2025 at Mount St Rita Health Centre in Cumberland, Rhode Island.  Nancy was born in Providence, Rhode Island, the daughter of Michael and Winifred (Mungoven) Griffin.  She was predeceased in death by her parents and her beloved sister, Jane W. Sherwin.  She is survived by her brother-in-law Craig J. Sherwin of Seekonk, Massachusetts.

After graduating from St. Mary Academy Bay View, she entered the Sisters of Mercy in Cumberland, Rhode Island on September 8, 1952. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Education from Catholic Teachers College and a Master Degree at Rhode Island College.

Nancy was an outstanding instructor who spent nearly forty years as a teacher of elementary and high school in the Diocese of Providence.  She taught first grade at Tyler in Providence and St Brendan in Riverside and middle grades at St. Peter and Paul, West Warwick and St. Mark, Cranston.

In 1968 she was named the principal of St. Joseph School in Pascoag, Rhode Island where she initiated an innovative mathematics course for advanced students.  After three years, she then returned to St. Mary Bay View where she taught for the next twenty years.  She was an excellent mathematics teacher whose love for the science was passed on to her students.  She prepared them well for College Boards as well as various careers.

She developed her technical skills while serving as secretary at Our Lady of Mount Carmel parish in Bristol, Rhode Island.   She used her skills at St Mary Bay View where she served as the secretary at the beginning of the new governing structure.  She then became a math tutor at Bay View for the next 8 years before retiring in 2001.

Her motto was “That I may see” which was evident in her seeking to see the potential in the many students and colleagues during her years in school.  It was central to her relationship with her family with whom she loved to spend time.  She helped in the care of her mother and sister, and her brother-in-law was a regular visitor to her when she went to Mount St. Rita Health Centre.  In her last years at Mount St Rita she moved from a ministry of prayer and presence to a waiting for the God she had served all her life to call her home.

The funeral will be held at Saint Aidan and Saint Patrick Church, 1460 Diamond Hill Road, Cumberland, RI on Thursday, June 26, 2025.  Visitation will begin at 9:15 a.m. and a Mercy prayer service at 9:45 a.m. followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 10:00 a.m.  In lieu of flowers, donations to the Sisters of Mercy, 15 Highland View Road, Cumberland, RI 02864 would be appreciated. For information and condolences, please visit: www.galloglyfuneralhome.com

Burial will be at Resurrection Cemetery, 261 W. Wrentham Road, Cumberland, RI immediately following the Liturgy.

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