Philomena Bridget Byrne
May 27, 1928 - August 13, 2010
Obituary
Sister Philomena Bridget Byrne, SP
Religious Name: Sister Mary Aidan
Sr. Philomena Byrne, SP, died on Friday, August 13, 2010 at St. Joseph Residence, Seattle, Washington at 82 years of age, after 60 years as a Sister of Providence. The Vigil Service will be at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, August 22, 2010 at St. Joseph Residence, 4800 37th Avenue SW, Seattle, Washington, and the Funeral Mass will be at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, August 23, 2010 at the same location. Bonney-Watson Funeral Home, Seattle, is in charge of the arrangements.
Sr. Philomena and her twin sister, Mary, were the fourth and fifth of six children born to Patrick and Bridget Condron Byrne in County Offaly, Ireland on May 27, 1928. Her family lived on a farm in an Irish countryside. She attended elementary school in Ireland.
She left her homeland of Ireland in 1949 and journeyed to Seattle, Washington at the age of 21 to join the Sisters of Providence. She joined her sister, Rose, who was in the Sisters of Providence novitiate at that time. She graduated from high school at the Providence Academy, Vancouver, Washington.
Sr. Philomena entered the Sisters of Providence novitiate in 1950, made her first profession on July 19, 1951 and took her final vows on July 19, 1954.
She took classes at the College of Great Falls, Montana 1949-50; Central Washington State College, Ellensburg, Washington Summer 1965; and Seattle University, Seattle, Washington 1953. She received a B.S. Degree from the College of Great Falls now known as University of Great Fall, Great Falls, Montana in 1971.
In 1951-53, she served as a Companion in the Nursery at the Providence Child Center in Portland, Oregon. Her assignments as an elementary teacher included: Sacred Heart School, Tacoma, Washington 1953-56; St. Finbar School, Burbank, California 1956-57, 1971-75; Holy Family School, Seattle, Washington 1957-59; Our Lady of the Holy Rosary School, Sun Valley, California 1959-65; St. Joseph Grade School, Yakima, Washington 1965-67; and Immaculate Conception School, Fairbanks, Alaska 1967-70.
Her ministry assignments at St. Joseph Medical Center, Burbank, California included: Information Center 1975-79; Director, Communications 1980-81; Supervisor, Information Center 1982-83; Supervisor, Information Center & Sister Representative 1984-87; Pastoral Care Associate and Sacristan 1987-1990; Pastoral Care Team, Hospice Program 1990-95.
Sr. Philomena also served as the Sisters of Providence representative to the Administrative Council at St. Joseph Medical Center, Burbank, California for several terms.
She began her retirement in 1996 and moved to St. Joseph Residence in Seattle, Washington where she served as a member of the administrative team for several years in the area of hospitality. Sr. Philomena was always willing to help and was very kind, considerate, and welcoming to everyone.
She is preceded in death by her parents and four siblings. She is survived by her sisters, Rose Byrne, SP, Burbank, California and Anne McGuire, Ireland and family in Ireland and England.
Memorial contributions may be made in her honor to the Sisters of Providence Retirement Fund, 1801 Lind Avenue SW, Renton, WA 98057-9016.
Sister Philomena was my 2nd grade teacher, second time through, at Holy Family School1958/59.I rediscovered her at St. Joseph’s Residence in 2002 and have maintained an ongoing friendship with both her and Sister Rose Byrne. She always greeted me with a welcoming smile and I enjoyed my visits and talks with her.I did learn one thing from Sister Philomena and Sister Rose that was not taught at Holy Family School, which is that the “Holy Land” is not located in Jerusalem but in IRELAND! I will miss her laughter and smile and the times we shared together. Larry Zaborac
I was not fortunate to have been taught by Sister “Phillie” my nickname for Sister Philomenaat Holy Family School, as my husband Larry was. However, 33 years ago when I first met Larry I heard the story of how he repeated 2nd grade, first time through with Sister Kevin Sister Rose Byrne-the evil one, as he called her with a smileand the second time through with Sister Mary Aidan Sister Philomena-the nice one. So in 2002 when Larry located Sister Kevin and Sister Phillie, I was looking forward to meeting these two sisters and finding out the whole story behind his repeating second grade. Sister Phillie made me laugh and laugh when she told me her side of the story as we took a walk at St. Joseph’s Residence. We became fast friends and I enjoyed our many visits. I’ll always smile when I think of Sister Phillie’s humor. I only wish she could have been my 2nd grade teacher too.
Sister Philomena was my second grade teacher at St. Finbar. Her sister, Sr. Rose was my english teacher in the seventh grade. I’ve enjoyed working with Sr. Rose at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center and speaking with her about Sr. Philomena. My condolences to her family.
i am the son of john and irene castro of burbank. we knew sister thru finbars school, providence h.s. and st. joseph’s hospital. bless her and thanks for all her good works.
From my days at NBC, Burbank, I met, became friends with and came to love Sister Philomena. Over the years,we spent a great deal of time together and I will always cherish the memories of our lunches and dinners. With a name like O’Neill and an Episcopalian, this wonderful Irish Sister could never quite understand how her church “let you get away”. We laughed together and talked about everything. I will carry Sister Philomena in my heart for the rest of my time on this earth. I loved her dearly and I will love her forever.