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Marjorie Adams, SSJ
SisterBiography
Former Religious Name: Sister Agatha
Home Parish: St. John the Evangelist, Girard, PA
Sister Marjorie Adams, SSJ, formerly Sister Agatha, was born in Girard, PA. She attended North Girard Grade School and Rice Avenue Union High School before attending Villa Maria College in Erie. It was during her time at Villa Maria that she first became acquainted with religious life and began to discern God’s call.
The joy, dedication, and concern for others that she witnessed in the Sisters of St. Joseph drew her toward religious life. Sister Marjorie was especially grateful for the support of Sister Amadeus, who encouraged her vocation and helped her as a Villa Maria College student when she had limited resources. She entered the Sisters of St. Joseph from her home parish of St. John the Evangelist in Girard in 1951 and professed her final vows in 1956.
Sr. Marjorie initially taught third grade at Holy Rosary School in Erie before pursuing a new area of ministry. She attended Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Pharmacy. Following graduation, she served as Chief Pharmacist at Saint Vincent Hospital in Erie and later as Pharmacy Director, Purchasing Agent, and Materials Manager at Spencer Hospital in Meadville, PA.
Returning to Erie, Sr. Marjorie ministered at Saint Mary’s Home as a pharmacist and nurse aide before continuing her education at PACE University in Pleasantville, NY, where she prepared to become a Nurse Practitioner. She went on to serve as an Office Nurse at Girard Medical Center and as a Nurse Practitioner-Coordinator at the Booker T. Washington Center, Martin Luther King Center, and Community Health Net, all in Erie. She also served as a school nurse in the Erie School District.
Throughout her career in health care, Sr. Marjorie found particular joy in caring for children. “As a nurse practitioner, I worked with infants and children. They are the love of my life,” she says. “They are life-giving, honest, and joyful.”
In retirement, Sr. Marjorie continued to find ways to serve others. She volunteered in the nursery at the Saint Vincent Child Care Center and enjoyed gardening, caring for plants, cooking, knitting, visiting the sick, reading, and praying.
Sr. Marjorie describes her sustaining spiritual inspiration as the simple life of Jesus as presented in the Gospels. She especially looks to Jesus’ teaching in Matthew’s Gospel, “For I was hungry and you gave me to eat,” as a guide for living, working, praying, and developing relationships with others.
When reflecting on the women who have shaped the Sisters of St. Joseph throughout the congregation’s history, Sr. Marjorie points to Mother Agnes Spencer as someone who exemplifies spirit, courage, and vision. She admires Mother Agnes’ strength and courage in facing Church leaders and establishing the first house of the Sisters of St. Joseph in the Diocese of Erie.
Through a lifetime of ministry in education, pharmacy, nursing, and service to others, Sr. Marjorie has continued to follow the example of Jesus that first inspired her vocation. Her many ministries have reflected the same qualities she recognized in the Sisters of St. Joseph as a young woman: joy, dedication, and concern for others.
