Marlborough- Sister Theresa O'Leary, RGS (Sister Mary Alfreda) died at St. Patrick's Manor in Framingham on Tuesday, February 16 , 2016 after a long illness.  She was 88 years of age and had been a Sister of the Good Shepherd for 70 years. Sister Theresa was born in 1927 in Boston the daughter of Charles and Mary (Driscoll) O'Leary.  Sister Theresa attended O.L. of Perpetual Help School in Mission Hill, Roxbury and graduated from Notre Dame Academy in Roxbury in 1945. She entered the Good Shepherd Novitiate in Peekskill, NY in 1946 and began her formal training for her long career as a social worker caring for teen-age girls and women.  Sister made her first profession of vows in 1949 and her final profession in 1952. Sister received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Sociology from Regis College, Weston her Master of Social Work degree from Boston College, Chestnut Hill and a Master's degree in Pastoral Ministry from Emmanuel College, Boston.  She was certified as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. Sister Theresa was a social worker at Our Lady of the Way, a Good Shepherd residence for girls in Jamaica Plain from 1949 to 1959. Sister was then missioned to the Good Shepherd residential program in Boston where she continued her social work ministry. For many years Sister Theresa served as Director of Social Work at Madonna Hall for Girls in Marlborough and Our Lady of Lourdes in Springfield. Sister also used her social work skills in parish settings serving as Director of Parish Outreach for the School Sisters of Notre Dame in Roxbury and for Catholic Charities Parish Ministry in the Archdiocese of Boston. In 1996 Sister Theresa became Program Director for Nazareth Family Center in Jamaica Plain caring for women and their children in a specialized residential setting. In 2004 Sister Theresa retired from her ministry at Nazareth Family Center.  While continuing to reside in Roslindale she began community service at Good Shepherd Center in Marlborough and served as community coordinator for the apostolic community.  Sister moved to Good Shepherd Center in 2011, and due to failing health, she was missioned to Bethany Health Care Center in Framingham in 2013.  She was later transferred to St. Patrick's Manor in Framingham. Sister Theresa is survived by her cousins, her community and many faithful friends, especially her long-time friends, Sr. Donna and Sr. Diane McHugh, SSND of Wilton, CT.

Visiting hours will be at Good Shepherd Center, 406 Hemenway Street, Marlborough on Monday, February 22 from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. with a Prayer Service at 7:00 p.m.  A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered for Sister Theresa at Good Shepherd Center on Tuesday, February 23 at 11:00 a.m.  Burial will be at Mt. Benedict Cemetery in West Roxbury.

Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Fitzgerald & Collins Funeral Home, 378 Lincoln Street, Marlborough. www.CollinsFuneral.com Expressions of sympathy in Sister Theresa's memory may be made to the Good Shepherd Retirement Fund, 406 Hemenway Street, Marlborough, MA 01752.

The Sisters of the Good Shepherd were founded by St. Mary Euphrasia Pelletier in Angers, France in 1835, in the United States (Louisville, KY) in 1843, and in Boston in 1867.