A Sister of Charity, BVM with ties to the Davenport Diocese will celebrate 75 years in religious life this fall. She is one of three diamond jubilarians being honored this year. A Mass of Thanksgiving will take place Sept. 11 at the Mount Carmel Motherhouse Chapel in Dubuque.
Sister Mary James Orth, BVM (James) is a native of Burlington. She entered the BVM congregation on Sept. 8, 1936. She professed first vows March 19, 1939, and final vows on Aug. 15, 1944.
She was an educator, administrator and volunteer. Sr. Orth taught in Davenport and Iowa City in the Diocese of Davenport and also was a teacher elsewhere in Iowa, Nebraska and Illinois. She was a principal/superior in Memphis, Tenn. She served as secretary to the treasurer at the BVM Center in Dubuque and as school secretary, teacher aide/tutor and volunteer in California.
