Leonard, Sister David Mary

An oral history of Sister David Mary Leonard, a Sister of Charity of Seton Hill from 1932 until 2002. The interview was conducted by Sister Marie Corona Miller on October 12, 1986.

Sister David Mary Leonard was born on January 23, 1915 in Cumberland, Md. Daughter of David A. Leonard and Edna R. Mason, Kathleen C. Leonard entered the community on September 8, 1932 as Sister David Mary Leonard.

Sister David Mary spent much of her ministry in education and care for the deaf and hard of hearing at the DePaul Institute in Brookline. She initially taught junior high education for the hard of hearing for 37 years, and later served as a full-time psychologist for the Institute. She also worked as coordinator of the “Share A Home” project and as liaison of the Alumni Office. She also coordinated to send older DePaul students to the Connelly Vocational School and the Vocational Center at South Hills High School to learn useful trades.

Sister David Mary earned her B.S. in Education at the University of Pittsburgh in 1945 and earned her M.A. in Education at Catholic University in 1950. She was certified by the state as a teacher for Deaf and Hard of Hearing and Speech Correction and Public School Psychology and was certified by the Conference of Executives of American Schools for the Deaf.

Sister David Mary Leonard passed away on May 7, 2002, at the age of 87.