SISTER OLGA MACDOUGALL

Liturgy of Christian burial for the late Sister Olga MacDougall, formerly Sister Margaret Hugh, 83, a Sister of St. Martha of Antigonish, was held January 8 in St. Martha Chapel, Parkland, Antigonish, with Father Gerald McDougall, SJ, officiating, assisted by Father Gary MacPherson.

Sister MacDougall died January 4, 2020, in St. Martha’s Regional Hospital, in the 60th year of her religious life.

Cross bearer was Sister Ivy Maccan. Pall carrier was Debbie Madore.  Readers were Sister Sandra Cooke, Sister Joanne O’Regan and Sister Joan Walker. Margaret Lee and Janice MacDonald provided the offertory gifts. Music was provided by pianist Sister Mary Gouthro, leader of song Sister Claire MacNeil, soloist Sister Catherine Ann MacGillivray and instrumentalist Sister Florence Kennedy.

Pallbearers were Bobby Kenney, Greg MacDougall, Lorne MacDougall, Bryan McDougall, Greg Gillis and Gordon Gillis.

Born in Whitney Pier, Cape Breton, Sister Olga was the youngest of 11 children of the late Hugh A. and Margaret (MacNeil) MacDougall. Sister entered the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Martha on August 15, 1958, pronounced her first vows on August 15, 1960 and her perpetual vows on August 15, 1965. Prior to entering the Congregation, Sister Olga took a one-year secretarial course at Mount Saint Bernard and had experience in office work and as a bank teller. After her profession of vows, Sister Olga began social work in Antigonish. This was interrupted while she studied at St. FX University to obtain a B.A. She then returned to social work, this time in Cape Breton, in Bras D’Or and Sydney. Sister Olga received a diploma in Pastoral Ministry from St. John’s Seminary, Brighton, Massachusetts, following which she served as director of Bethany Retreat Center, Antigonish, and served on the staff at Galilee Retreat Centre, Arnprior, Ontario. She pioneered the opening of Wellspring Centre at St. FX University as director and was also on the Bethany Community Leadership Team. Sister Olga used her secretarial and office skills in ministry at St. Martha’s Catholic Center in Boston, Mass., and Genesis House, Chicago Illinois. Within the congregation, she served two terms as general secretary and was director of Vocation Education and Pre-Novitiate. Her sense of adventure took her to Australia on her year of renewal and to a hermitage experience at the Spiritual Life Center, in New Jersey, long before hermitages were a popular form of retreat. A deeply caring person, Sister Olga had a heart for those who experienced loss and used the knowledge she gained from social work, studies in spirituality and tools such as the Enneagram to become a well-loved spiritual companion to many.

She is survived by two sisters, Mary Louise Kenney, Alma Turcotte, both of Sydney; brother, Samuel Leo, Sydney; several nieces and nephews.

She was predeceased by two sisters, Helena, Carmella; five brothers, Stanley, James, Francis, John, Roderick.

Online condolences: www.clcurry.com