By Rita McInerney

Sister Betty Donohue, a Grey Nun of the Sacred Heart who spent 45 years in service to the Church in Atlanta, died March 26 at the congregation’s motherhouse in Yardley, Pa. She had been ill for two months with an inoperable brain tumor.

Sister Betty, as she was known to her many friends here, planned the liturgy for her Mass of the Resurrection celebrated the evening of March 27 at the motherhouse. The Eucharistic Liturgy of Christian Burial the next morning was followed by interment at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Cheltenham.

A memorial Liturgy open to everyone will be celebrated Monday, April 26 at 7:30 p.m. at the Cathedral of Christ the King. It was here, both in the school and on the parish pastoral staff, that Sister Betty spent many of her years in Atlanta.

She first came to Christ the King School in 1939 and taught there for two separate stints before being named superior and principal in 1958. She remained in the post until 1964 when she moved to the faculty at D’Youville Academy; she later served as principal.

Sister Jean Liston, Grey Nuns superior and former principal at Christ the King School, described her loyal friend as a woman “loved by generations of people.” Many came to her with their problems and “she would know just where to direct them to go for help.”

“She cared about everyone, old and young.” Sister Liston recalled. “Her work was everywhere in Atlanta.”

Father Richard Kieran knew Sister Betty first at St. Pius X High School where she was assigned as librarian in 1969. As a new principal, he said he “didn’t know up from down. She held my hand through many difficult beginnings.”

Later, when he was newly named as rector at the cathedral and she was librarian there, “If I wanted to know anything about anyone of importance in the parish I would ask Betty. She has such a network of friends. It was wonderful.”

“She always has such a wonderful respect for me. I deeply appreciated her ministry,” Father Kieran, now pastor at Immaculate Heart of Mary, said.

Sister Margaret McAnoy, IHM, president of the Atlanta Conference of Sisters, called Sister Betty’s death “a great loss to the archdiocese and for the Sisters’ Conference.” A friend since both served at St. Pius, she called her “one sister who really made a difference. She was committed to the people here. She made such a difference in the church.”

Sister McAnoy appreciated her friend’s ability to speak out, even to archbishops. “She let people know what she was thinking, she never hesitated,” she said.

After leaving the high school in 1975, Sister Betty served at Holy Family parish in Marietta and St. Jude in Sandy Springs. She returned to the cathedral as librarian in 1980.

Her library was the cheerful spot in the drab basement at the cathedral before renovations which transformed that space later in the decade.

It was bright with books, banners and flowers and “there was always a comfortable chair and a coffee pot” giving off an inviting aroma, according to Phyllis Wigton, parish secretary at the cathedral.

Since the onset of her illness Jan. 26, Mrs. Wigton said the staff more than once talked about Sister Betty’s gifts. People mentioned her “human warmth,” the fact that “everywhere you go she was loved,” and “her remarkable gift for remembering names and faces.”

Mrs. Wigton marveled at Sister Betty’s adaptability. “She was always so current and such a staunch supporter of the church.”

She was librarian at the time she was stricken. During her years at the cathedral she served as eucharistic minister and was a case sponsor for people seeking annulments through the Metropolitan Tribunal of the archdiocese. She took communion to people weekly and could be counted upon to serve whenever and wherever she was needed.

Sister Betty was born Mary Elizabeth Donohue in 1916 in Rochester, N.Y., daughter of Timothy J. and Irene Murray Donohue. After attending Melrose Academy in suburban Philadelphia she entered the Grey Nun novitiate in 1936 and took the name of Sister Mary Timothy. She studied at D’Youville College in Buffalo, N.Y., and Catholic University where she majored in library science. She also studied at Marywood College in Scranton, Pa., and the University of Georgia.

She was honored as a woman of the year in 1981 by the Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women. She served on various committees and advisory groups engaged in evaluating and revising curricula and textbooks in Georgia, Florida, Alabama and South Carolina.

Her brother, John Donohue, died several years ago. She is survived by his widow, Jane, in Aiken, S.C., and a nephew in New Orleans.