Sr. Mary Samson, SHCJ

Mary Samson, SHCJ

September 5, 1935 – May 29, 2025

Educator, Administrator, Pastoral Care Worker

Rosemont, Pennsylvania – Mary Samson, SHCJ, a Sister of the Holy Child Jesus for 69 years, died peacefully on Thursday, May 29, 2025. She was 89.

Sister Mary was a beautiful person filled with God’s grace, love, and compassion. She deeply cared for her family, friends, colleagues, and everyone she served. From life experiences, Sister Mary understood that life is fragile and meant to live fully, living in the "Now" and welcoming the “sacrament of the present moment.” She also felt called to create a better world. She wrote, “I believe that when God finished creation on the seventh day, God passed on the role of creator to us. My little world, no matter how small, is there for me. God and I want it to be a better place for my having been part of it. This creating of mine involves the utilization of all that I am and all that I have, the best possible me.” Indeed, Sister Mary left our earthy world in a better place! She will be missed by all who knew her.

Born in Everett, Massachusetts, and raised in Melrose, Massachusetts, Sister Mary attended Saint Mary School in Melrose, where she was taught by Holy Child Sisters. She entered the Society of the Holy Child Jesus immediately after graduating high school, making her first and final vows in 1954 and 1961, respectively. She became well known by her religious name Mother Charles Mary.

Sister Mary taught elementary and high school for nearly two decades, including at Saint Edward School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1956-63 and 1965-66); John W. Hallahan Catholic Girls High School in Philadelphia (1963-65); Holy Child Academy in Sharon Hill, Pennsylvania (1966-67); Assumption School in Pasadena, California (1967-68); Saint Mary School in Melrose (1968-70); Holy Child Academy in Old Westbury, New York (1970-71); and Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child in Summit, New Jersey (1971-76).

At Oak Knoll School, Sister Mary grew interested in technology, leading her to teach television production. With the students’ help, she televised Sunday Mass on closed–circuit TV at Overlook Hospital, bringing the service to a much wider audience, including the patients. Her contribution to the school’s communication program was greatly appreciated and enduring. In 2024, in honor of Oak Knoll’s 100th Anniversary, she was interviewed by the school about her work with the program.

From her personal health experiences, Sister Mary understood the need for hospital pastoral care, which inspired her to earn a graduate degree in pastoral counseling in 1978. She accepted the position of Chaplain at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston, where she was soon named the hospital’s Director of Pastoral Care, a position she held for almost 25 years. Sister Mary considered this ministry an enriching and wonderful learning experience, as she interacted with patients, medical staff, and a team of chaplains, including a Jesuit priest, a Congregational Minister, a Rabbi, and an Imam. As a former teacher, Sister Mary reveled in mentoring the Boston Theological Institute’s seminarians, sisters, and graduate students who were fulfilling their clinical requirements at the hospital.

In 2002, life came full circle for Sister Mary when she accepted a pastoral care position in her hometown parish, Saint Mary’s, in Melrose. Sister Mary immersed herself in the work and regularly connected with the local Holy Child Associates and alumni from Saint Mary’s. She delighted in having her sister, Shirley, living nearby.

In 2022, Sister Mary moved to Holy Child Center in Rosemont, Pennsylvania, where she was loved for her gentle spirit, intelligence, and humor.

In retirement, Sister Mary reflected that Holy Child Sisters do not fade away; instead, they reinvent themselves as daughters of Cornelia “to meet the wants of the age through Actions, Not Words.”

Sister Mary earned a Bachelor of Arts in Humanities from Villanova University in 1967 and a Master of Arts in pastoral counseling from Emmanuel College in 1978.

She joins her parents, Charles and Laura (nee Beauchamp), and her sister Shirley in eternal rest. She is survived by many friends and Holy Child Associates, co-workers from Spaulding Rehabilitation Center in Massachusetts, and Sisters of the Holy Child Jesus.

Friends and family are invited to a Prayer of Remembrance on Wednesday, June 4, 2025, at 4:00 p.m., and a Mass of Christian Burial on Thursday, June 5, 2025, at 11:00 a.m., both at Holy Child Chapel, 1341 Montgomery Avenue, Rosemont, Pennsylvania 19010. Preceding Mass, friends and family are welcome to attend the visitation at 10:00 a.m.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be sent to the Society of the Holy Child Jesus – American Province, 1341 Montgomery Avenue, Rosemont, Pennsylvania 19041, or made online at https://www.shcj.org/american/donate.