Sister Patricia Poulin (Sister Miriam Clare), 94, died Saturday, March 10, 2018, at St. Joseph’s Provincial House, Latham. She had been a Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet for 69 years.
Sister Patricia was born in Oakland, Maine, and raised in Amsterdam, N.Y., daughter of the late Herbert and Helen Walsh Poulin.
After graduating from St. Mary’s Institute, Amsterdam, she worked for several years at Mohawk Carpet Mills/Mohasco Industries in Amsterdam. On March 19, 1949, Sister Patricia entered the novitiate of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Troy, N.Y. She professed final vows on Aug. 15, 1956. She received a bachelor’s degree in business education from The College of Saint Rose, a master’s degree in education from the University at Albany (SUNY), and a doctor of ministry degree in pastoral counseling from the Graduate Theological Foundation. For 30 years, Sister Patricia taught in schools of the Albany Diocese, including 12 years at Catholic Central High School, Troy. Subsequently, she was supervisor of Clinical Pastoral Education at Lourdes Hospital, Binghamton. Previous to her retirement, Sister Patricia was a pastoral counselor in both Binghamton and Cincinnatus, N.Y.
Sister Patricia was a woman of faith with a strong spirit of optimism and a resiliency that guided her perspective to see the bigger picture. She was good-natured, approachable, and understanding, gifts that made her both a kind teacher and a compassionate pastoral minister. Well-read, intelligent, and humorous, Sister Patricia was an engaging conversationalist on a wide variety of topics including theology, sports, the arts, and politics. She loved her family and often visited her brothers in the Adirondacks, the Philippines, and the island of Yap, returning with all the more fodder for her gift of gab. In her years of teaching, Sister Patricia was able both to trigger receptiveness to learning and to create an atmosphere of respect and caring. In Clinical Pastoral Education, she was able to help students develop a new or deeper awareness of themselves and of the needs of those to whom they minister.
Sister Patricia is survived by her beloved sister-in-law, Carol Waldron; her nieces and nephews and their families: Thomas Poulin, Patricia Poulin, Kathy Scarbales, Joseph Waldron, Raymond Waldron, Bryan Waldron, William Waldron, and Meg Allen; and the Sisters of St. Joseph. In addition to her parents, Sister Patricia was predeceased by six brothers: Rev. Neil Poulin, SJ; Rev. Donald Poulin; Alton Poulin; Carl Poulin; Rev. Calvin Poulin, SJ; and Richard Poulin.
Sister Patricia’s Mass of Christian Burial was held March 14 from the chapel of St. Joseph’s Provincial House, Latham. Contributions in Sister Patricia’s memory may be made to the Development Office of the Sisters of St. Joseph, 385 Watervliet-Shaker Road, Latham, N.Y. 12110.
