Submitted by Sister Deborah Kennedy, RSM Sister Mary Ann Wilhelm, RSM who served for decades in health care ministry, including as senior vice president and chief operating officer of Mercy Medical, passed away Sept. 29 at the age of 85 after an extended illness. Though Sister Mary Ann was born in St. Louis, she grew up in Mobile. Sister Mary Ann attended both St. Mary and St. Catherine Elementary Schools and graduated from the former Convent of Mercy High School in 1956. After high school, Sister Mary Ann began her lifelong ministry in health care, graduating from Providence School of Nursing, Mobile in 1959. Soon she was to hear another calling. On Sept. 8, 1960, Sister Mary Ann entered the Sisters of Mercy in Baltimore following her twin sister - Sister Mary Eileen — who had entered in February of that year. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in nursing from St. Louis University and her Master of Science in administration from the University of Notre Dame. Sister Mary Ann started her full-time ministry at St. Joseph Hospital in Atlanta as supervisor-OB/GYN. Later to be missioned to the former St. Martin de Porres Hospital in Mobile in the same position. In 1967, with the closure of St. Martin de Porres, Sister Mary Ann began the signature ministry of her life as a Sister of Mercy at the former Villa Mercy in Daphne, later to become Mercy Medical. Little did she realize that this was the beginning of health care ministry that would span 38 years of service and she, along with Sister Mary Eileen, would change the face of post-acute care in Baldwin and Mobile counties, and influence such in other areas throughout the state and elsewhere. In her role as senior vice president and chief operating officer, Sister Mary Ann pioneered new directions in the areas of long-term and skilled care, in-patient rehabilitation, home health and hospice programs for adults and children. Perhaps that for which she may be best known, is the creation and development of the first free-standing Alzheimer’s facility in Alabama, the John McClure Snook Regional Center in Daphne. After retiring from Mercy Medical, Sisters Mary Ann and Mary Eileen relocated to Baltimore where their lives as Sisters of Mercy had begun and continued to minister in various ways, some health related and others new needs. In 2019 they decided to “come home” and resided at Convent of Mercy in Mobile. This Woman of God, this Sister of Mercy, who met the health needs of others for so many years developed serious health issues of her own. And as the end neared for her, she called upon hospice, a gift she had made available for others, to accompany her in her final journey. Sister Mary Ann’s motto inscribed in her religious profession ring, says, "The Lord Lives!"! And now she lives forever in God’s Holy Presence. Well done, good and faithful servant. She was the twin daughter of the late Eileen McClintock Wilhelm and Maurice F. Wilhelm. She is survived by her identical twin, Sister Mary Eileen, RSM, her brothers, William J. Wilhelm (Wichita, Kan.,) and Maurice F. Wilhelm (Leeds) and three generations of nieces and nephews. The Funeral Mass and celebration of Sister Mary Ann Wilhelm’s life was Oct. 11 at Holy Family Catholic Church in Mobile.