SISTER VIRGINIA (Mary Dahlia) WALSH, ASC, 91, of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ, Ruma Center, Ruma, Illinois, passed away at 5:05 pm, Thursday, September 24, 2015 at the Ruma Convent, Ruma, Illinois. She was born in Syracuse, New York to Irish immigrant parents, Thomas and Delia (nee King) Walsh on July 18, 1924. Virginia grew up in St. Louis, Missouri where, after the death of both parents before she was 11 years old, she was raised by an aunt and uncle, Delia and George Forness. At the age of 18, she entered the Adorers of the Blood of Christ and professed first vows on July 1, 1944 and final vows July of 1949. Even before her entrance into the community, Virginia felt drawn to do something to improve the lives of the sick, poor and disadvantaged. After she received her RN certificate from St. John's Mercy Hospital in St. Louis in 1948, she began a long career of meeting those needs in a variety of settings. During the first part of her career as a nurse she served at St. Vincent (now Taylorville) Memorial Hospital in Taylorville, IL, St. Clement (now Red Bud Regional) Hospital in Red Bud, IL, and Catholic Children's Home in Alton, IL. She interrupted her career to further pursue her studies, receiving a Bachelor of Nursing degree from Incarnate Word University in San Antonio, TX in 1971. Then she resumed her nursing career, working in outpatient clinics with the East Coast Migrant Workers in New York State and in Homestead, FL, at St. Joseph Memorial Hospital in Murphysboro, IL, and finally as director of a clinic in Gardnersville, Liberia, West Africa. Always wanting to improve her skills and find new ways to serve the needs of the most vulnerable, Virginia entered a clinical pastoral education program at St. Louis University in St. Louis, MO to become a Catholic Chaplain in 1980. She then began her "second" career as chaplain at St. John's Hospital, Springfield, IL and then at St. Vincent (now Taylorville) Memorial Hospital where she spent 27 years building a strong pastoral care team and mentoring others in her gentle manner and with her ever ready Irish charm. Virginia's final career took her back to the Ruma Center, where she was a quiet and comforting presence among her sisters, still reading and learning new things up until her final weeks when she became the recipient of the gentle care she had lavished on so many during her nearly 70 years of bringing healing and hope into the lives of the sick, poor and disadvantaged. Survivors: Many Nieces and Nephews, Friends, Co-Workers and her community of Adorers of the Blood of Christ Preceded in death by: Parents and 1 Sister - Mary Patricia Norton Mass of Christian Burial: 1:30 pm, Saturday, September 26, 2015 Ruma Center Chapel, Ruma, Illinois Visitation: Saturday - 8:00 am - 11:00 am Ruma Center Chapel, Ruma, Illinois Wake Service: 11:00 am, Saturday, September 26, 2015 Ruma Center Chapel, Ruma, Illinois Interment: Convent Cemetery Ruma, Illinois Donations in memory of Sister Virginia Walsh may be sent to the ASC Retirement Fund, 4233 Sulphur Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63109 or online at www.adorers.org, "Support Our Ministries".
