THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 7, 1996 TAG: 9604070018
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B6 EDITION: FINAL
DATELINE: NEWPORT NEWS LENGTH: Short : 41 lines
Mary Loretta Oakley, 99, a native of Newport News and a former resident of Norfolk, died Thursday April 4, 1996.
Miss Oakley was a graduate of St. Vincent DePaul Hospital School of Nursing in Norfolk (now DePaul Medical Center) class of 1920. She practiced as a registered nurse over 50 years and dedicated her life to serving the sick. Her career included work as a private duty nurse in the hospital and homes in Norfolk. She often nursed many members of a family, caring for a mother and her newborn and then later for a sick parent or elderly grandparent.
She was the night supervisor of St. Vincent DePaul Hospital for about 16 years. A respected mentor to younger nurses and students, ``you could not know Mary Oakley without loving her.''
A member of the Professional Nurses Registry, Miss Oakley was a lifelong active member of the St. Vincent DePaul Alumni Association and was the honored guest at the Centinenial, 100th Anniversary Celebration of the founding of the DePaul School of Nursing.
Survivors include her immediate loved ones, Domenica Bevelacqua Jernigan, Howard Jernigan, Christopher Jernigan, Pamela Bevelacqua and Coleen Gower. She is also survived by a nephew, niece and great-niece.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Monday in St. Vincent DePaul Catholic Church, Newport News by the Rev. Don Michael Hanna. Burial will follow in Greenlawn Memorial Park, Newport News. There will be a Rosary service at 7 p.m. today in the R. Hayden Smith Funeral Home, Hampton, after which the family will receive friends until 8:30 p.m. The family will be at the home of Mrs. Domenica Jernigan, 105 Dutchess Course, Ford's Colony, at other times. Memorials may be made to the St. Vincent DePaul Alumni Association, c/o president, DePaul Medical Center School of Nursing, 150 Kingsley Lane, Norfolk, 23505, or Peninsula Catholic High School Building Fund, 600 Harpersville Road, Newport News, 23601.
KEYWORDS: DEATH OBITUARY by CNB