- Born
- 1891-09
- Died
- 1973-02-27 · Grand Rapids
- Work
- Nurse · Hospital administrator
- Siblings
- Sister Mary Bridgetta Malloy, R.N.
- Eras
- Modern era
- Concepts
- catholicismhealthcarecommunityheritage
- Within
- Beaver Island
Summary
Sister Mary Clare Malloy, R.S.M., born Susan Gertrude Malloy on Beaver Island in September 1891, was one of twelve children of John P. “Buffalo” Malloy and Bridget Boyle Malloy. She entered the Sisters of Mercy in 1911, earned a B.S. from Catholic University of America, and worked as a nurse and hospital administrator at St. Mary’s Hospital and other hospitals in Michigan and Tennessee before her death on February 27, 1973.
Evidence and limits
Her 1973 obituary is the source for nearly everything known about her family: a sister, Sister Mary Bridgetta Malloy, also entered religious life, as did two other sisters, Sister Isabel, R.S.M., and Sister Leona, O.P., both of whom predeceased her. A brother, Austin H. Malloy of Grand Rapids, and two more sisters, Mrs. Nora Adsit and Mrs. Grace Skidmore, were also living in 1973. The obituary names a nephew, “John L. Malloy of St. James” — the Holy Cross Cemetery index traces this to her brother John “Monty” Malloy’s son, John L. “Mickey” Malloy, who was hospitalized that same year and died the next. No held source states which of the twelve children, besides those named as survivors, did not live to 1973, and no source connects this Malloy family — descended from John P. “Buffalo” Malloy — to the separate Malloy line of J. Lawrence Malloy, whose children also appear elsewhere in this archive.
Open questions
- Who were the other children of John P. and Bridget Malloy not named as 1973 survivors?
- What did Sister Mary Clare’s administrative and nursing work at hospitals in Tennessee involve?
See also
Kin
Sources
- Identifies Sister Mary Clare as Susan Gertrude Malloy, born on Beaver Island in September 1891, and names her parents as John Patrick "Buffalo" Malloy and Bridget Theresa Boyle. This retrospective institutional profile corroborates the 1973 obituary and supplies her birth month/year and birth name.
- Identifies Sister Mary Clare Malloy, R.S.M., 81, as born on Beaver Island, "one of twelve children of John P. and Bridget Malloy." Reports her mother's early death, her upbringing by an aunt (Mrs. Fred Nackerman), entry into the order in 1911, a B.S. from Catholic University of America, and work as a nurse and hospital administrator at St. Mary's and other Michigan and Tennessee hospitals before her February 27, 1973 death at St. Gertrude's Convent, Grand Rapids, and burial at Mount Calvary Cemetery. Names surviving siblings: a brother, Austin H. Malloy of Grand Rapids; three sisters, Sister Mary Bridgetta, R.S.M. of Battle Creek — see [[person/sister-mary-bridgetta-malloy-1975]] — Mrs. Nora Adsit of Hoxie, Kan., and Mrs. Grace Skidmore of Traverse City; and a nephew, John L. Malloy of St. James. States that Sister Mary Clare and three of her sisters became nuns: Sister Mary Bridgetta, Sister Isabel, R.S.M., and Sister Leona, O.P. (the latter two predeceased her).data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1973-03_Beaver-Beacon
- The held ten-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1973-03_Beaver-Beacon
- Lists John P. Malloy "Buffalo" (1857–1937), married Bridget T. Boyle, and their son John "Monty" Malloy (1882–1932, married Katherine "Kate" Cull) — whose own son, John L. "Mickey" Malloy (1917–1974), is the "nephew, John L. Malloy of St. James" named in the 1973 obituary. See [[person/john-mickey-malloy-1973]].
Added 1 August 2026 · revised 4 August 2026. Recent changes
Cite this article
Beaver Island Archive, “Sister Mary Clare Malloy, R.S.M.”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/people/mary-clare-malloy/, accessed [date], citing Beaver Island Irish-American Hall of Fame, "Sister Mary Clare Malloy" (Class of 2022). (and 3 further sources listed on the page).
Last revised 2026-08-04. Fill in [date] with the date you read it — this page is static and cannot know that.
BibTeX for “Sister Mary Clare Malloy, R.S.M.”RIS for “Sister Mary Clare Malloy, R.S.M.”