Sister Ann Elizabeth Hartnett, SSND
(Mary Benedictus)
November 28, 1935 - November 7, 2024
Ann began her autobiography, written prior to entering the SSND Novitiate,
“On November 28, 1935, I made my arrival at 3910 Hudson Street, Baltimore, Maryland. My mother, Gertrude Clisham, and my father, James Hartnett, are both Catholics. I was preceded by six brothers and four sisters. One of my brothers was drown and three of my sisters died at birth. Within the next seven years two more girls arrived to complete a happy family of eleven.”
Ann, like all her siblings, received the sacraments of initiation at St. Brigid Catholic Church and their elementary education at the parish school staffed by the School Sisters of Notre Dame. After graduation from eighth grade, Ann went to the SSND Aspiranture in Fort Lee, New Jersey for high school. Of this experience Ann wrote, “After spending four years at the Aspiranture I felt certain that this (SSND) is where God wanted me.”
On August 28, 1953, Ann entered the SSND Candidature from her home parish. The following July she was received into the Novitiate. Upon completion of the novitiate, Ann professed first vows on July 30, 1955, and began her SSND ministerial life as a teacher of children in primary grades at parish schools in Pennsylvania and Maryland. She was a creative and talented classroom teacher. This was followed by a few years as a junior high teacher and administrator at schools in Maryland and Georgia.
Ann earned a BA degree in elementary education from the College of Notre Dame (now Notre Dame of Maryland University) and a M. Ed in Elementary Education Administration from Loyola College (now Loyola University Maryland).
In the early 1970s, Ann was among those women religious who responded to a call to bring their educational expertise and passion for God’s people into new settings. Ann served as a Pastoral Associate at Resurrection of Our Lord Parish in Laurel, Maryland for 26 years. This was followed by 13 years at St. Joseph Parish, Fullerton, Maryland, first as Health Care Ministry Coordinator and then as Coordinator of Pastoral Visitors. After “retiring” from parish ministry, Ann continued to live in the area for several years, serving as an informal mentor and visitor to many, especially those confined to their homes. Ann shared the Hartnett “family gift” for storytelling which was only a small part of what endeared her to her large family and even larger circle of friends.
Colleagues who reflected on their years together in ministry and, family members who recalled gatherings in times of joy and sorrow, remembered Ann fondly as creative and energetic, a gentle, loving woman, kind and compassionate, deeply spiritual, and a happy, joyful person. Sisters in Community with Ann after her move in 2021 to Villa Assumpta and Rosary communities and later to the SSND Community at Stella Maris recalled the twinkle in her eye and smile on her face. An activity Ann enjoyed in a particular way was “sing-along time,” joining in, especially to favorite Irish songs.
Ann died peacefully on November 7, 2024, at Stella Maris Nursing Home in Timonium, Maryland. She is survived by her sisters, Mary Ann Hartnett, SSND, and Patricia Hartnett as well as many nieces and nephews. The Wake and Mass of Resurrection for Ann were celebrated on November 19, 2024, in the Chapel at Villa Assumpta, Baltimore, Maryland with Ann’s nephew, Monsignor Robert “Bob” Hartnett presiding. Interment followed at Villa Maria Cemetery in Glen Arm, Maryland. We remember and give thanks for the gift Ann has been to all those to whom and with whom she ministered and shared life.
