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Colette Palmer, SSJ
SisterBiography
Home Parish: Sacred Heart, Erie, PA
Sister Colette Palmer, SSJ, was born in Sharon, PA. She first felt the call to religious life, particularly the Sisters of St. Joseph, while in 4th grade. “Sister Michelle Pillar was a postulant at the beginning of the year, and then received her habit in April,” she said. “As a young girl, I was very impressed with her love and joy and dedication to God in her life, and knew at that time that I, too, was being called to be a Sister of St. Joseph.” Sister Colette credited her mother as the person whose faith most deeply touched her life.
She entered the Sisters of St. Joseph from Sacred Heart Parish in Erie on August 27, 1959, and made her final profession on August 15, 1967. She attended Sacred Heart School and Villa Maria Academy in Erie. She earned a BS in Nursing from Villa Maria College, Erie, in 1966 and then studied Community Mental Health at Boston State Hospital.
Sister Colette was also an educator, and taught at St. Peter Cathedral, Our Lady of Peace and St. Ann Schools in Erie; and St. Bernard School in Bradford, PA. She served as a registered nurse at Saint Mary’s Home of Erie, Saint Vincent Health Center, and Villa Maria College, all in Erie. She also served as Marycrest Director (infirmary) for the Sisters of St. Joseph and as pastoral care chaplain at Saint Vincent Health Center.
