Sister Edna (Perpetua) O’Connor, RSHM, died peacefully at Marymount Convent, Tarrytown, NY, on Wednesday, December 3, 2025. She was 90 years of age and had been a member of the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary for 73 years.
She was born in Irishtown, Co. Mayo, Ireland, on February 6, 1935, to Michael and Mary Julia Treacy O’Connor.
She received a BA from Marymount College, Tarrytown, NY, and an MA from St. Mary’s College, Notre Dame, IN. Following in the footsteps of her sister, Maeve, a year earlier, Sister Edna entered the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary at the RSHM Novitiate in Tarrytown, NY, on June 3, 1950. She made her first vows on February 13, 1952, at Butler Memorial Chapel, Marymount, Tarrytown, where she later made her final vows on August 25, 1957.
She taught at St. Thomas Aquinas School, Bronx, NY (1952-1956), Academy of the Sacred Heart of Mary, Sag Harbor, NY (1956-1957), and Marymount Junior School, Arlington, VA (1957-1959).
She was an assistant to the Mistress of Novices at St. Joseph’s Novitiate, Tarrytown, NY (1959-
1965). During that time, she spent a year (1961-1962) at St. Mary’s College, Notre Dame, IN,
doing graduate studies in Theology. After completing her assignment at the Novitiate, Sister Edna was asked to join a group preparing for a new RSHM mission in India. However, circumstances prevented the mission from becoming a reality.
She returned to classroom teaching, first at Mother Butler Memorial High School, Bronx, NY
(1966-1971), and then Marymount International School, London, England (1971-1978).
When the RSHM decided that each province should research undeserved areas somewhere in the world where the province could serve, Sister Edna became a member of the new Eastern
American Province foundation in rural Southwest Virginia. She lived in Speedwell (1978-1985)
where she ministered through community outreach and was director of a Head Start program.
She taught in Ahoskie, NC as a member of the similar Western American Province foundation in
North Carolina (1985-1991).
Sister Edna served as a provincial councilor for the Eastern American Province (1991-1997).
Sister Edna then transferred to the Zambezi Region in 1998. There, she ministered in Zambia, first in Choma (1998-2002) and then in Lusaka (2002-2016). Her experience in parish ministry in Choma led her to establish a small school, Kalundu Ka Maria (which means Marymount in Tonga), to provide preschool and early primary education to street children and others from an impoverished neighborhood. Missioned to Lusaka, she volunteered at Mother Teresa’s orphanage for one year. In 2003, she founded Umoyo (Life) Day Care Center for preschool children orphaned by AIDS.
In 2016, Sister Edna transferred back to the Eastern American Province and moved to
Marymount Convent, Tarrytown, NY. She was a member of the Convent community at the time
of her death.
Sister Edna is predeceased by her parents and her brothers and sisters, James, Michael,
Bernadette, Noel, Jarlath, Brendan, Anne, and Sister Maeve O’Connor, RSHM. She is survived
by many nieces and nephews, and by the members of her religious family.
Services at Marymount Convent, 32 Warren Avenue, Tarrytown, NY. Visiting will be on Thursday,
December 11, 4:00-7:00 pm, with the Vigil Service at 7:00 pm. Mass of Christian Burial will be on Friday, December 12, at 10:30 am. Burial will be at Mount Calvary Cemetery, White Plains.
We invite you to join us for the Vigil Service and Mass at Marymount Convent or by live stream on our website (www.rshm-east.org), where they will be archived.
In lieu of flowers, gifts in her name may be made to Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary, 50 Wilson Park Drive, Tarrytown, NY, 10591.
That’s a really beautiful piece on our dear departed aunt Edna, much of which I would not have been aware of.
Edna and Maeve visited Mayo and their brother Jarlath (our dad)on the farm where they were born and raised to their teen years , whenever circumstances allowed and were two of the sweetest, most genuine and happy people I ever had the pleasure of knowing.
So rest in peace in God’s heavenly home dear Edna,reunited with Maeve ,the rest of your siblings and loved ones passed.