Hagan, Agnes Marie SL

Sister Agnes Marie (formerly Sister Mary Cordula) Hagan SL died Nov. 7, 2024, at the Loretto Living Center on the grounds of Loretto Motherhouse in Nerinx, Ky. She was 92 and in the 73rd year of her Loretto commitment. Ever proud of her Nelson County, Ky., roots, she was born Nov. 27, 1931, in New Haven, Ky., to Mary (Bowling) and George B. Hagan. She was received into the Sisters of Loretto at the Foot of the Cross April 25,1952. She earned a bachelor's degree in education, with a minor in history, in 1956 from Webster College, Webster Groves, Mo.; and a master's in education and administration in 1969 from Central Missouri State College in Warrensburg.

Sr. Agnes Marie was a longtime educator and social worker, serving in Illinois, Texas, California, Missouri and Kentucky. She first taught at St. Mary Grade School, Sterling, Ill. (1956-1962); then at St. Mary Star of the Sea, Freeport, Texas (1962-1963); and Holy Family School, South Pasadena, Calif. (1963-1966). Moving back to Missouri, for the next 15 years she served as teacher and principal at Our Lady of the Americas, Kansas City. She then worked for the next five years as a teacher and parish worker at Nativity Parish and School in Independence and then served two more years in Kansas City, where she did parish work at Cathedral Parish while also teaching reading and religion.  Moving to Louisville, Ky., she taught at Holy Family School (1989-1995). In addition, she was part of Project Women (sponsored by AIMM) in the 1990s.

Retiring from teaching, Sr. Agnes Marie remained in Louisville, helping to care for Sisters from 1997 to 2017 as a member of the Community Services Department staff at Nazareth Home, a long-term care facility of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth. Also in Louisville, for many years Sr. Agnes Marie volunteered at St. Boniface Soup Kitchen and was a beloved worker every Wednesday at St. John's Center for Homeless Men. A dedicated, faith-filled woman, she was noted by her loved ones as having a grateful heart and being very accepting of others' choices and decisions, loving them unconditionally.

She moved to Loretto Motherhouse in 2023, where she tutored, served as a driver for the Motherhouse Community and took part in many Motherhouse social activities.

Preceding her in death were her parents and seven siblings, Edward, Marion, Paul, Tommy, Mary Ann Hagan Hall, Joseph Raphael and Johnny. She is survived by her sister, Sister George Mary Hagan OSU of the Ursuline Sisters of Mount St. Joseph, Maple Mount, Ky.; her sister-in-law, Ann Boone Hagan of New Haven, Ky.; and numerous nieces and nephews and extended family, all of whom loved her greatly.

A wake for Sister Agnes Marie will begin at 6:30 p.m. ET on Monday, Nov. 25, with a funeral Mass to be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. ET on Tuesday, Nov. 26, both at Loretto Motherhouse. Burial will be at Our Lady of Sorrows Cemetery at the Motherhouse.

Memorials may be made to the Sisters of Loretto for our mission, c/o Loretto Motherhouse, 515 Nerinx Road, Nerinx, KY 40049 or as an online gift at www.lorettocommunity.org.