ST. MARY’S HOME FOR DISABLED CHILDREN TO HONOR SISTER MARY JUNE TODAY FOR 50 YEARS OF SERVICE
WHAT St. Mary’s Home for Disabled Children will hold a surprise party TODAY to honor Sister Mary June Morin. She is starting her 50th year at SMHDC, Virginia’s largest long-term-care residential facility dedicated to children and young adults with severe intellectual and physical disabilities.
WHEN TODAY, Thursday, Feb. 5, Noon – 2 p.m. Remarks by CEO William C. Giermak and some of Sister Mary June’s colleagues expected to start at 12:30 p.m.
WHERE Atrium, St. Mary’s Home for Disabled Children, 6171 Kempsville Circle, Norfolk, VA 23502
CONTACT For more information, call Sonja Barisic, marketing communications manager, at (757) 622-2208 ext. 331 or email sbarisic@smhdc.org.
BACKGROUND
In an era when it’s common for people to switch jobs every few years, Sister Mary June Morin has been a model of steadfastness and devotion to a long-term cause: caring for Virginia’s most vulnerable children.
Born to a French-Acadian family in the town of Madawaska, Maine, Sister Mary June worked at a children’s clinic in Brooklyn before arriving in Norfolk on Feb. 8, 1960, at what was then called St. Mary’s Infant Home. She has held a variety of jobs here over the years, from working in the laundry and sewing room to teaching Montessori school to arranging activities and field trips. Today, she coordinates the children’s individualized care plans.
She’s been especially drawn to the children who need the most care. One of those children was considered “almost a failure to thrive” when he came to St. Mary’s Home as a young boy. She worked with him patiently and got him to eat. He’s now a teenager and still lives here.
Many people have asked her over the years how she does it – isn’t it depressing to work with children with such severe disabilities? Her response: “You say to yourself, ‘These are children. They need your care. Why not give them the best care to help them reach their potential?’ ”
On Monday, she marked another anniversary: her 56th year as a Daughter of Wisdom.