Sr. Charles Marie Frank, Devoted to Nursing

Sr. Charles Marie Frank (1906–1998) was persistent: she interrupted her nursing studies in September 1928 to become a Sister but completed her degree requirements in 1939. She went on to study at Catholic University in Washington D.C., in 1942, later serving as Dean of Nursing there from 1957 to 1964. Her whole life was devoted to the education of professional nurses.

Sr. Charles Marie developed one of the state’s first professional nursing programs at Incarnate Word College in 1943. She supervised hospitals and nursing schools within the congregation, including St. Anthony’s Hospital in Amarillo (pictured).

In 1964 Sr. Charles Marie left her career in nursing administration to lead a new mission in Chimbote, Peru. She did not hesitate to be “self-sacrificing, generous, ready to live amid unaccustomed poverty, and love the poor.”

Sr. Charles Marie (center) played a major role in the development of Project HOPE, which combats infectious diseases in developing countries.

In 1972, Sr. Charles Marie was appointed to the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Service by U.S .Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird. Here, she is advising on the well-being of military women at Camp Bullis, Texas.

In retirement, Sr. Charles Marie developed a clinic for retired Sisters living in the Motherhouse. She also wrote the history of the mission in Peru and volunteered in the congregation’s archives.

Obtained from https://www.ccvichapel.org/post/sisters-stories-2