Sister Judith McKenna, CSC (Sister Judith Mary)

Sister Judith McKenna, CSC

(Sister Judith Mary)

May 17, 1930 — September 11, 2025

Entered the Sisters of the Holy Cross from Washington, D.C., on January 28, 1950

Initial Profession of Vows on February 2, 1953

Some say that when one story is told, more exist. In 2021, Sister Judith McKenna heard one such story that aptly pays tribute to her 51-year education ministry. She received an email from a former student who thanked her for being a wonderful teacher, always “lighting the candle and showing the way forward.” There is no doubt that similar stories from many other students exist and can attest to her impact as a revered teacher and principal.  

Judith McKenna was born on May 17, 1930, in Washington, D.C., to Harry Paul McKenna, a lawyer, and Grace (Sartwell) McKenna, a public elementary school teacher. The child was baptized Grace Judith, but grew up preferring to be called Judith, or Judy. After the death of her father when she was two years old, Judy and her two older siblings, Patricia and Gerald, were raised by their mother. Some of Judy’s earliest and fondest memories were of the Sisters of the Holy Cross, as the family lived in an apartment complex adjacent to Blessed Sacrament School Convent, Washington, D.C. She loved spending time with her Holy Cross neighbors and often performed little chores for the sisters when they went away on vacation. Whenever the superior ordered ice cream for the sisters, extra was always reserved for the McKenna family. Judy received a Holy Cross education at Blessed Sacrament School and the Academy of the Holy Cross, Washington, D.C. After graduating high school in 1948, she first worked as a clerk for the U.S. Treasury Department, and then as a receptionist at a photography studio. On January 28, 1950, Judy entered the Sisters of the Holy Cross, Notre Dame, Indiana. Upon reception of the holy habit a year later, she became Sister Judith Mary.

As Sister Judith Mary, she taught in parochial elementary and junior high schools across the eastern United States for 15 years following her first profession of vows. After returning to her baptismal name in 1968, Sister Judy continued to teach junior high students for 36 years in Ohio, Virginia, Washington D.C., and Maryland. She earned her bachelor’s degree in French from Dunbarton College of Holy Cross, Washington, D.C., in 1965, and her master’s degree in sociology in 1976 from The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. With her assignment in 1981 to Holy Trinity School, Norfolk, Virginia, to serve as principal, Sister Judy became involved in school administration. After seven years at Holy Trinity, she was the principal for nine years of Immaculata School, Hendersonville, North Carolina; and assistant principal of Cardinal Hickey Academy, Dunkirk, Maryland, for five years. Colleagues spoke highly of Sister Judy, and how she led schools with a strong sense of purpose and dedication. Though an introvert, she was described as a woman of integrity and “a strong leader with the courage of her own convictions.”

In 2004, Sister Judy decided she needed a change in ministry due to her age. She volunteered for six years at Support Our Aging Religious (SOAR!), an organization based in Washington, D.C., that helps Catholic religious congregations raise funds to care for their elderly and infirmed members. She retired to Saint Angela Hall, Kensington, Maryland, in 2010, where she enjoyed having more time for solitude, quiet prayer, her daily crossword puzzles, and the local community’s book club. She moved to Saint Mary’s in 2018, following Saint Angela Hall’s closure, and transitioned to a ministry of prayer and presence. Sister Judy accepted her limits with a positive attitude and lived every day of her final years to the fullest. At 95 years old, she died at Saint Mary’s Convent in the early afternoon of September 11, 2025, soon after a recent hospitalization. Having lived in community for more than 75 years, Sister Judy was grateful to come at Saint Mary’s and be with the sisters and staff members whose lives she brightened every day. Her sense of humor and kind personality will be greatly missed by her family and her Holy Cross sisters. In the days to come there will be more stories to tell by those who remember her with special affection. Thanks be to God for this woman of strength and dignity, (Proverbs 30: 25).

Services will be held at the Church of Our Lady of Loretto on Wednesday, September 17, 2025, with visitation at 9:30 a.m.  Prayers and memento at 10:30 a.m. followed by the Mass of the Resurrection.  See the Sisters of the Holy Cross website for details.  Kaniewski Funeral Home is assisting.

-Written by Madisen Toth, archivist

Sisters of the Holy Cross Archives and Records

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