Sister Mary Louise Landry, R.S.M.

Sister Mary Louise Landry, R.S.M, (Gertrude Agnes), age 103, died on Friday, July 24, 2015, at Frances Warde Convent.

Sister Mary Louise was born in Old Town on August 18, 1911, to Hubert Landry and Caroline (Tardif) Landry. While attending Orono Catholic High School, she worked in her father's bakery, helping at the bakery before and after school.

She entered the Sisters of Mercy in 1929, beginning her ministry in elementary education.  Sister Mary Louise taught at the Kavanagh School (which would later become Cathedral School) and St. Dominic School in Portland, at St. Mary’s School in Houlton, at St. Mary’s School in Biddeford, at Immaculate Heart of Mary School in Fairfield, in the public school system in Benedicta, and at St. Patrick School in Portland.

In 1945, she began her career as the chief pharmacist at Mercy Hospital, a position she held until 1968. She also served as the pharmacology instructor for the Mercy Hospital School of Nursing, was assistant administrator and later administrator of Mercy Hospital, and served on the Leadership Council of the Sisters of Mercy in Portland.

After Sister Mary Louise retired from the hospital, she was assigned to Eagle Lake, where she opened the first retail pharmacy in the town.  She was also named the first woman chaplain of the Knights of Columbus, was a member of the Ladies of St. Anne, and an extraordinary minister of holy Communion. She also served for 18 years on the board of directors of Northern Maine General Hospital. In 1995, she retired to St. Joseph's Motherhouse, Portland, but remained active as a member of the Catholic Daughters of America and as a volunteer in the gift shop.

Read Sister Mary Louise’s complete obituary here.

Funeral arrangements are as follows:

Wake: at Conroy-Tully Crawford, 1024 Broadway, South Portland on Tuesday, July 28, from 3 to 7 p.m. with a prayer service at 6 p.m.

Funeral at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, 307 Congress St., Portland at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, July 29.

Please prayer for the consolation of Sister’s religious and natural families.  May her soul and the soul of all the faithful departed rest in peace. Amen.