Sister Agnese Neumann, a founding faculty member at Mercy High School who later became a nurse to the medically underserved, died of heart failure Aug. 2 at Mercy Medical Center. She was 95.
Born Jean Neumann in Baltimore and raised in Edmondson Village, she was the daughter of Joseph Neumann, a pharmacist, and his wife, Marie.
She attended St. Bernardine’s School and decided to enter the Roman Catholic religious order, the Sisters of Mercy, after graduating from Mount St. Agnes High School in 1947. She received the religious name Agnese.
She taught at the elementary and secondary schools staffed by the Sisters of Mercy before she was assigned to serve the newly founded Mercy High School in 1960.
She remained on the Mercy faculty from 1960 to 1967 and taught Latin, English, religion and science.
She left Mercy in 1967 for another assignment, returning in 1969 to serve as a biology teacher and science department chair.
“We remember Sister Agnese was a joyful presence in Mercy’s early years as a teacher and much later as a 10-year volunteer in our alumnae office,” said the school’s president, Mary Beth Lennon. “Her dual commitment to education and nursing inspired our healthcare exploration program that bears her name.”
“She loved teaching and mentoring high school girls, and in turn was loved by them,” Ms. Lennon added. “She remained in contact with many Mercy graduates, who visited her and sent her cards and letters throughout her illness. Her frequent visits to Mercy High School energized our faculty and staff and inspired our students. Her smile was contagious, and she always had a twinkle in her eye.”
In 1973, Sister Agnese left Mercy High School and changed careers. She became a nurse clinician at the University of Maryland Medical Center in downtown Baltimore and worked in the adolescent unit. She later became a nurse practitioner and worked in Leonardtown and rural Georgia.
“She spent much of her life in the service of the poor and infirm,” said the Rev. Michael Roach, who preached a eulogy at her funeral.
Medical colleagues said she often worked in areas where there was not much medical care available.
They described her personality as vivacious, honest and forthright.
During her nursing career, Sister Agnese co-founded a clinic for women in need and frequently volunteered to care for those in hospice.
Mercy High School established the Sister Agnese Neumann Scholars Program in partnership with MedStar Good Samaritan Hospital in 2018. Through this program, Mercy students received hands-on training in a specialized health care setting.
In recent years, Sister Agnese mentored Mercy High School students through this program. She listened to their experiences through their internships and provided advice to the high school’s juniors and seniors. She also volunteered in the alumnae office.
Mercy High School, “in recognition of Sister Agnese’s extraordinary impact as a faculty member and her steadfast belief in the power of a Mercy education,” established the Sister Agnese Neumann, RSM Scholarship Fund.
Her funeral was held Monday at St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church in Cockeysville.
Survivors include cousins.
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