Sister Doris Rondeau, RSM

Sister Doris Rondeau (formerly Sister Trinitas), 87, a Sister of Mercy for 67 years died on Monday, January 9, 2023 at St. Anne’s Hospital in Fall River, MA. Doris was the daughter of the late Oliver and  Loretta (Simonin) Rondeau. She was preceded in death by her brothers Norman and Roger. Doris grew up in Fall River and graduated from Mount St. Mary High School.

Doris entered the Sisters of Mercy Novitiate in Cumberland, Rhode Island in 1955. She prepared for teaching with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education from Salve Regina University and a Master of Arts in Education from Rhode Island College. She began her teaching in Grade 5 at St. Vincent Home in Fall River.  She then taught middle grades at St. Mary School and St. John the Baptist in New Bedford.  She enjoyed acquainting students with new experiences and her students remember her interest in them.

In 1976 she entered Mercy Hospital Nursing School in Portland Maine where she earned both a Registered Nurse degree and a Bachelor of Arts in Nursing.  She returned to Fall River and served for twenty years as a support and head nurse at Union Truesdale Hospital and later Charleton Memorial Hospital.  The hundreds of patients she ministered to remember the patient woman who listened, answered questions, and performed the most mundane acts with respect and sensitivity.

After leaving the hospital, Doris served as a staff nurse at a number of nursing homes in Fall River including Highland Manor, Hanover Manor, and the Adams House. In semi-retirement, Sister ministered at Catholic Memorial Home as Nursing Supervisor.  On retirement she served as a volunteer for the Sisters of Mercy at Landmark in Fall River as well as a Eucharistic Minister for the Cathedral parish at Borden Place Apartments where she lived and was loved by the residents for her kindness to them. In June 2022 she became a resident of Catholic Memorial Home.

Doris often reflected on her experience in nursing. She wrote: “For me nursing is a privilege, an opportunity to carry out the Gospel mandate to minister to the sick and suffering. I do not see nursing as a mere job, profession, or career but as a commitment to people lived out daily in compassionate caring.” At her final vows Doris chose as her motto: Love without measure. Her life is an example of this as she gave herself to the loving care of so many.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:15 a.m. on Friday, January 13, 2023 at St. Stanislaus Church, 36 Rockland Street, Fall River.  A Mercy Prayer Service will begin at 10:00 a.m.  Interment will be in St. Patrick Cemetery, Fall River.  In place of flowers, contributions may be made to the Sisters of Mercy, 15 Highland View Road, Cumberland, RI, 02864. www.sistersofmercy.org

Information and condolences, please visit: www.galloglyfuneralhome.com

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