The MHSN Alumni Association continued the beautiful tradition of remembering our deceased alumni. Before the beginning of Mass in the Chapel at Mercy Hospital, Theresa Brown Krzemien ‘73 read a reflection by nurse, author, and motivational speaker Donna Wilk Cardillo
Nurses Don’t Retire, They Echo
They say a nurse retires when the clock stops ticking, when the final shift is signed, and the uniform is folded away like a memory. But I know better.
A nurse never retires.
She echoes.
She echoes in the steady hands of the young nurse who learned from her trembling first IV.
She echoes in the chart notes written with care, because once, she whispered: *“Every word matters.”*
She echoes in the corridors where her laughter once softened exhaustion, where her footsteps once carried hope into rooms heavy with fear.
Her kindness echoes in the families who still remember the gentle squeeze of her hand, the way her eyes said, “I see you,” when words were too heavy to lift.
Her lessons echo in the ones she mentored those she taught that healing is not just a skill, but a sacred calling. They carry her wisdom like a torch, lighting the path long after she has gone home.
Even in the silence of retirement, she does not disappear. For every child who grew strong because she held their mother’s life steady, for every heart that beat again under her watch, for every soul that left this world cradled by her care—she echoes.
Not in headlines, not in medals, but in lives still breathing, in love still rippling.
So hang up the stethoscope, fold the scrubs away. The world may call it an ending, but we who have seen her life’s work know the truth:
Nurses don’t retire. They echo—in every heart that still beats because they once cared.
Father James Dowds, CSsR was the celebrant of the Memorial Mass. In his homily he recalled many of his memories of Mercy Hospital and Mercy Nurses.
Before the recessional hymn, The Angels of Allegheny offered a touching tribute to our Mercy Angels.
Following the Mass, we all gathered in Sister Ferdinand Clark Auditorium for a luncheon, time to socialize, and then welcomed our guest speakers, the daughters of Lorraine Sweeney Wagner ’58, who passed away two months ago, September 2025.
Lorraine was a 1958 graduate of the Mercy School of Nursing. She worked as a Registered Nurse for many years at Mercy Hospital before working in medical management. She also worked at Kane Hospital and was instrumental in exposing the abuse of patients there. This led to the reforms of the Kane Hospital system in the late 1970s.
Lorraine married the love of her life Ken, and they raised four children.
As a fierce advocate for individuals with intellectual disabilities, Lorraine’s vision to open family style group homes to serve individuals in their own neighborhoods led her and Ken to found the Emmaus Community of Pittsburgh in 1989.
The Emmaus Community became an extended family for Lorraine and Ken, the individuals and families served, and its many employees. Today Emmaus has seventeen homes and provides additional services in the community.
Lorraine’s three daughters Grace, Peppy, and Cece were honored guests at our luncheon, and each spoke loving tributes about their mother. CEO of Emmaus Karen Jacobson added more about the founding, history, and growth of Emmaus. Since 1990, Emmaus has grown from a small, grassroots organization to a well-respected provider of disability services in the Pittsburgh region. Read more at: www.emmauspgh.org
The MHSN Alumni Association honors and thanks our outstanding alumna Lorraine Sweeney Wagner ’58 for her nursing accomplishments and good works for people with intellectual disabilities in our community.
If you attended the Mass and luncheon and took photos, please share them with us. Email mercyalums@gmail.com
