Sister Mary Carol Hoke, SSJ, was born in Meadville, PA, to Arthur Charles and Marion Josephine Chalot Hoke. Following high school, she worked as a secretary for the Pennsylvania Department of Highways for more than four years. She attended mass and received communion daily and believes it was during that time that she heard the call to religious life. She also credits her mother’s prayers and the example of love and caring she experienced from dedicated parish priests and the Sisters of St. Joseph that led her to religious life. She entered the Sisters of St. Joseph in 1951 and professed her final vows in 1957.

She received her bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Villa Maria College in Erie and was certified in elementary library science at Edinboro University.

Sister Mary Carol taught at St. John, St. Andrew, St. Patrick, and St. Joseph schools in Erie; St. Leo, Ridgway; St. Francis, Clearfield; St. Bernard, Bradford; and St. Mary, Reynoldsville. She also served as principal at St. Joseph, Erie, and St. Brigid, St. Agatha, and Seton Catholic Schools in Meadville. She was a librarian at Seton Catholic School, Meadville, and the Sisters of St. Joseph Community Living Center.  She served as a clerk at St. Agatha parish, Meadville, and Saint Vincent Hospital, Erie.