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 Sr.
Bernadette Marie Basbagill, OP
Diamond Jubilarian
60 years (August 14, 1944)
A native of the Grandview, Ohio, suburb of Columbus, Sr. Bernadette embraced
the life of a Dominican Sister more than 60 years ago and pursued a dual
career in nursing and teaching over the course of her active service with
the Congregation of St. Mary of the Springs. A registered nurse who trained
at the Mt. Carmel School of Nursing, Sr. Bernadette began working at the
infirmary of St. Mary of the Springs, which was later replaced with the
congregation’s Mohun Health Care Center facility. She went on to
serve in the St. George Hospital in Cincinnati from 1946 to 1947, returning
there in 1949 and 1950.
Sr. Bernadette found a new career in teaching in the early 1950s. She
earned a B.S. degree in elementary education from the College of St. Mary
of the Springs (now Ohio Dominican University) and served at various schools
which the Dominicans administered. She taught the “little ones,”
finding a niche with first and second graders. She returned several times
to Steubenville’s St. Anthony from 1957 to 1958, 1961 to 1964, and
1968 to 1969. She then spent 13 years teaching the fourth grade at St.
Clare de Montefalco in Grosse Pointe, Michigan.
Sr. Bernadette has been a resident of Mohun Health Care Center since
1982. In 1998, with the perspective of a health care professional as well
as a patient, she wrote a wonderful poem entitled “The Perfect Physician”:
I’ve found a physician who’ll come to your
house,
He quickly will answer your call.
You need not be afraid, He’s easily paid:
A bit of Faith, Hope and Love, that is all!
Just tell Him your ills; He’ll give you no pills,
But your anguish will vanish like smoke.
He gives a gentle caress that leaves joyfulness,
To ease the weight of your yoke.
Yes, I’ve found a physician
Who’ll answer your prayer;
Just call on Jesus! You’ll find He’s right there!
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