Agnes Grace O'Hara (1898-1987)

Known by her family and friends as Grace, she grew up with Genevieve, Alice, Charles and John Tracy in the Chicagoland area. At the age of 30 she became a nun and entered the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul for the next 58 years. "For a long time in her little second-floor bedroom, Sister Rita [as she was known by] had smiled at passers-by, and answered pleasantly those everlasting questions like, 'How are you today?' and 'I bet you'd like to be outdoors right?' She was grateful always for the little services of the nurses and aides, the sister on Infirmary staff. Then, later, came a time when Sister Rita was frail, tiny, pale, hardly breathing. Then, only her friends of long standing ventured in, to pray aloud, or try a phrase or two. These old friends claimed they'd got a faint response, at least; Sister had heard them; she'd recognized a familiar voice. She'd not 'let them down.' It was debatable." "Only one cousin survived her as her next-of-kin; they corresponded more or less regularly. She must have been lonely for lack of family, but she rarely spoke of it." Indeed she was the last O'Hara. This then is the narrative of the life and times of Agnes Grace O'Hara known as Sister Rita.