Sr. Margaret Held, SSSF

Sr. Margaret Held, School Sister of St. Francis

Entered Eternal Life on Aug. 25, 2016 in Durant, MS at the age of 68. She was born in Hartford, WI, on Aug. 15, 1948, to Jerome and Dolores (nee Gundrum) Held. Sister Margaret was raised in Slinger, WI.

She attended St. Peter’s Grade School and entered the School Sisters of St. Francis in Milwaukee, WI, in 1962, and graduated from Alverno College. Sister Margaret started her religious ministry in education and later entered the nursing field. She taught at St. Joseph’s High School in Kenosha and then felt her calling as a social worker in Holly Springs, MS. Because of the need for dedicated health care professionals in the communities of the South, she earned her nursing degree at Creighton University in Omaha, NE, in 1981 and worked as a home health nurse.

She received a Master’s Degree from Mississippi University for Women as a Nurse Practitioner, and worked for the Department of Health in Tupelo and DePorres Health Center in Marks, MS.
Her final ministry was with Sister Paula Merrill (Sisters of Charity of Nazareth) at a clinic in Lexington and another in Durant, MS. They dedicated their lives and love to the poor and disadvantaged for 30 years in the South. They were loved by all the people they served and will be missed deeply by their communities and patients.

She was preceded in death by her parents and a sister, Mary Reidell. She is survived by her sisters and brothers: Beth (John) Bacik, brother-in-law Edward Reidell, Jean (Andy) Knoll, Sue (Joe) Zuern, Jim (Mary) Held, Annette (Peter) Schulz, and Tony (Karen) Held, along with many nieces and nephews, great-nieces and nephews, aunts, uncle and cousins and members of her religious community, the School Sisters of St. Francis, with whom she shared 49 years of life.

Visitation will take place at School Sisters of St. Francis, St. Joseph Center, 1501 S. Layton Blvd., Milwaukee, WI, on Friday, September 2, 2016, at 8:30 a.m., followed by the wake service at 9:30 a.m., in the same location. Mass of Christian Burial will follow at 11 a.m. Committal will be at Mount Olivet Cemetery, 3801 W. Morgan Ave., Milwaukee, WI, at 2:30 p.m.

Other memorial services include:

A Mass will be said in the honor and memory of Sister Margaret and Sister Paula at the St. Joseph Catholic Academy Lower Campus on Wednesday, August 31, at 9:30 a.m., in St. Mark the Evangelist Church at 7117 14th Ave., Kenosha, WI.

A Mass and Visitation will take place on Thursday, September 1, at Resurrection Church, 215 Main St., Allenton, WI. Visitation with the family will be at 4:00-5:45 p.m., followed by a memorial mass at 6 p.m. A light luncheon will follow.

A special memorial liturgy, organized by the College of Nursing of Creighton University, will be held at Creighton University St. John’s Catholic Church, 2500 California Plaza, Omaha, NE, on Friday, September 2, at 12 noon.

In honor of Sister Margaret’s commitment to ministry, memorial donations can be made to:
The School Sisters of St. Francis
Office of Mission Advancement
1501 S. Layton Blvd., Milwaukee, WI 53215
To donate online, go to www.sssf.org.