Sister Mary Brigid Condon, a former IHA executive and a longtime advocate for nurses and nursing education in Iowa, died this week at Provena Mercy Medical Center in Aurora, Illinois.  She was 93 years old. 

A graduate of the University of Iowa with both master’s and doctoral degrees in nursing, Sister Mary Brigid was well known in the field of nursing education, especially in Iowa, where she spent nearly 50 years.  She began in Marshalltown in 1943, where she was the director of nursing and the school of nursing and then took on similar duties at Mercy Hospital in Iowa City. 

She was head of the department of nursing and a professor at Davenport’s St. Ambrose College (now St. Ambrose University) and Marycrest College from 1954-1973.  In March 2010, St. Ambrose recognized Sister Mary Brigid by dedicating a classroom in her honor at the school’s new Center for Health Sciences Education, located on the campus of Genesis Medical Center. 

At IHA, Sister Mary Brigid was a vice president for seven years in the 1970s and 1980s and was appointed by the governor to the Iowa Board of Nursing and the Physicians Assistants Board.  During this time she served as a consultant to all Iowa hospitals and spoke at medical seminars nationally and abroad.  At age 70, she became the founder and executive director of House of Mercy, a home for single mothers and children in Des Moines. 

A Liturgical Wake service will be held July 26, at 2 p.m., followed by visitation until 8 p.m. at Provena McAuley Manor, 400 W. Sullivan Road, in Aurora.  Mass of Christian Burial will be July 27 at 10 a.m. in McAuley Chapel, also at Provena McAuley Manor.  Interment will be at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Aurora.  In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Sisters of Mercy.