Sister Annette Kuchta
MAY 24, 1934 - APRIL 14, 2007
Sister M. Annette (Constance) Kuchta, OSF, died on April 14, 2007, in Pittsburgh, Pa. She was 72 and in her 53rd year of religious life.
Sister was born Constance Kuchta on May 24, 1934, in Creighton, Pa., to George and Mary (Hamonaj) Kuchta. She attended East Deer Elementary School and East Deer High School, graduating in 1952. She was received into our community in 1953 and given the religious name of Sister Annette. She made first vows in 1954 and final vows in 1959.
Between 1954 and 1969, Sister taught at Catholic schools in the Pennsylvania towns of Farrell, McKees Rocks, Barnesboro, Erie, Carmichaels, Clymer, Canonsburg and Charleroi.
Sister Annette attended Mount Mercy College (Carlow University) and Duquesne University before earning a degree in practical nursing from Camillus School of Nursing in Darby, Pa., in 1968. While teaching in Charleroi during the 1968-1969 school year, she also worked as a weekend nurse at Charleroi Hospital.
After a brief time as a nurse at St. Joseph Home in Dayton, Ohio, Sister Annette served as a nurse and the first administrator of our Marian Hall Home in Pittsburgh, Pa., from 1970 to 1993. She continued her service as a nurse and receptionist at Marian Hall until 2006.
“With her zeal and responsibility, she gave Marian Hall a good beginning,” one Sister remembers. “She ministered to their needs with a sincere interest that won their confidence and respect. Sister Annette was a nurse truly deserving of the name.”
Sister Annette also is remembered for her love of life, her warm and loving spirit, her appreciation of soft music, her welcoming smile, her collection of bells, and for the great joy she brought to everyone in her presence.
As another of her Sisters in community attests, “I will remember the same joyful care she gave to us as she gave to the residents in Marian Hall. May she find the peace and joy that she deserves.”
Sister Annette is buried in St. Francis Cemetery at Mt. Assisi Place in Pittsburgh, Pa.