Obituary: Dolores Greenwell SCN, 97, Nazareth
Dolores Greenwell, SCN, 97, (formerly Sister John William) died Sept. 2, 2022, at Nazareth. She was born in Nelson County Aug. 27, 1925, and was a professed Sister of Charity of Nazareth for 77 years.
She earned her nursing degree from Nazareth College (now Spalding University) in Louisville with a minor in psychology. In the 1950’s she served as a psychiatric nurse at Our Lady of the Oaks Hospital in Lexington, Ky., and at Our Lady of Peace Hospital in Louisville, Ky.
Over the years, she served as a nursing supervisor for several institutions: St. Joseph Infirmary, Louisville; Georgetown University Hospital, Washington DC; St. Vincent Infirmary, Little Rock, Ark.; Holy Family Hospital, Ensley, Ala.; and Flaget Memorial Hospital in Bardstown. Her nursing skills led her to become a surgery supervisor at Marymount Hospital in London.
After Vatican II, new awakenings came to Sister John William, who changed to her baptismal name Dolores. In 1971, she asked and received approval for a 9-month sabbatical at Madonna House in Combermere, Ontario. There she had spiritual direction and time and place for prayer, which reinforced Dolores’ vocation call to live her life “for the sake of the Kingdom.” She then served children at St. Thomas-St. Vincent Home in Anchorage and the migrant community at the Health Center in Ruskin, Fla.
In 1989, she was approved for a second sabbatical at St. Stephen Priory in Dover, Mass. Following this sabbatical, Sister Dolores continued to devote her life to health care ministries as a hospice nurse in Paintsville, and at the Floyd Co. Health Dept. in Prestonburg. From 1997-1999 she worked at the Nelson County Courthouse in social services.
Sister Dolores served her SCN Community in many ways: as a staff nurse at the Motherhouse, as a volunteer with the SCN Mission Office, and as an assistant sacristan for St. Vincent Church. Upon retirement, she worked in the Thrift Shop at Nazareth and provided hospitality at Russell Hall on Nazareth Campus.
She is survived by two sisters, Lavon Cecil and Charlotte Ann Hall; one brother, Albert C. Greenwell; her extended family and her religious community, the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth.
Her family wishes to express their heartfelt gratitude for the loving care she received from the staff and the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth at Nazareth and Nazareth Home.
The Funeral Mass is 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022 in St. Vincent de Paul Church.
Visitation at the church begins at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2022, with the wake at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Memorial donations may go to the Office of Mission Advancement, P.O. Box 9, Nazareth, KY 40048.
The Houghlin-Greenwell Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
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