Sister Michael Joseph Herron, a member of the Sisters of St. Francis who taught elementary students in Baltimore parochial schools for more than 50 years, died June 17 of heart failure at Assisi House, her order's Aston, Pa., retirement home. She was 101.
She was born and raised Bridget Catherine Herron in County Donegal, Ireland.
Before entering the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia in 1932, she had worked as a housekeeper in the rectory of St. Lawrence Roman Catholic Church in Catasauqua, Pa.
Sister Michael Joseph professed her vows in 1934 and earned a bachelor's degree in English in 1954 from Mount St. Mary's University in Emmitsburg.
Sister Michael Joseph held teaching assignments in parochial schools in Wilmington, Del., and later Washington and Silver Spring.
She taught at St. Elizabeth School from 1938 to 1939 and at St. Peter Claver School from 1939 to 1940.
She taught students at the Shrine of the Little Flower Parochial School from 1940 to 1944, and then again from 1964 to 1974.
From 1944 to 1947, she was on the faculty of St. Stephen Parochial School in Bradshaw, and St. Katharine Parochial School from 1947 to 1955.
Sister Michael Joseph spent the last 24 years until retiring in 1998 in parish ministry at the Shrine of the Little Flower Roman Catholic Church.
"It was particularly rewarding when I spent time in parish ministry," she recalled in autobiographical notes. "God spoke through me. I was his instrument to bring peace to troubled hearts and souls."
Since 1998, Sister Michael Joseph had resided at Assisi House, where she assisted in the prayer ministry until her death.
"She would have celebrated her 102nd birthday on June 28," said Sister Ann Marie Slavin, who is also a member of the Sisters of St. Francis.
Sister Ann Marie said that she attributed her longevity to having "a good sense of humor and her love of God."
Sister Michael Joseph enjoyed drawing and reading.
A Mass of Christian burial was offered Tuesday.
Surviving are many nieces and nephews.