Sr. Dymphna E. Aherne

Sister Dympna Eunice Aherne, known affectionately as Sr. Dee, was born on November 3, 1939, in the Bronx, New York, to Jeremiah and Dympna Kernis Aherne. She entered the Franciscan Sisters of Allegany, New York, on September 3, 1961, was received into the Congregation on July 2, 1962, and professed her final vows on August 29, 1969. For the next 65 years, she lived and worked as an Allegany Franciscan, faithfully sharing in the life and mission of her community.

A 1988 graduate of Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry, New York, with a bachelor’s degree in Nursing, Sister Dee began her ministry at St. Francis Hospital in Olean, New York, in 1964. Over her long career she served in several New York health care settings, including St. Elizabeth Motherhouse in Allegany, Villa Mary Immaculate in Albany, and St. Clare Hospital in New York City. She also brought her nursing skills to the people of Bolivia in South America. Upon returning to the United States, she continued her compassionate care through the Visiting Nurse Association and hospice programs in the New York and New Jersey areas. In November 2023, she returned to her beloved St. Elizabeth Motherhouse in Allegany, where she spent her final years.

Predeceased by her parents, her brother John, and her sister Sheila Lowney, Sister Dee is survived by her twin sister, Sister Kathleen Aherne, OSF, of St. Elizabeth Motherhouse, her brother Gerald, and many nieces and nephews.