Nun active in health care, Mercy administration dies of cancer at 56

Published: 2006-07-21

BURLINGAME, Calif. (CNS) -- Mercy Sister Diane Grassilli, who chaired the board of directors of one of the nation's largest hospital systems and was instrumental in shaping the future of the Sisters of Mercy community throughout the West and Midwest, died July 16 of cancer. She was 56. A funeral Mass for the president of the Sisters of Mercy in the Burlingame region, which covers California and Arizona, was scheduled for July 26 at Our Lady of Angels Church in Burlingame. "She was a rare combination of the visionary and the realist," said Mercy Sister Carolyn Krohn, a member of the Burlingame regional leadership team. "She saw clearly how to find common ground to bring people together and what practical steps were necessary to accomplish our goals." From 2002 to 2005, Sister Diane chaired the board of Catholic Healthcare West, a system of 41 hospitals and medical centers in California, Arizona and Nevada. It is the eighth largest hospital system in the country and the largest not-for-profit health care provider in California.

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