BIDDEFORD — Sister Eileen Ward, formerly known as Sister Martin Marie, died at St. Joseph Convent on May 9, 2022, at the age of 87.

Sister Eileen was born on June 15, 1934, to Martin Ward and Margaret Higgins Ward in Long Island, New York. Sister Eileen was the fourth child in a family of five children. She received her elementary education at Holy Cross School in Bronx, New York, and her secondary education at Cathedral High School, New York. She attended Hunter College, New York. Later, she earned her bachelor’s degree in English at Mount Saint Mary College in Hooksett, New Hampshire, and her M.S.W. at Boston College.

On Sept. 3, 1956, Sister Eileen entered the Congregation of the Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, also known as the Good Shepherd Sisters of Quebec, in Bay View, Saco, Maine. After her initial training in religious life, she spent one year at the Mother House in Quebec where she studied and prepared for a teaching career. She pronounced her perpetual vows in August 1963.

Sister Eileen taught several years in Biddeford (St. Joseph and St. Louis High Schools) and also in Van Buren District School, Van Buren, Maine. After obtaining her M.S.W. degree, she worked at St. Andre Home, Inc. for 39 years. She resided in Bangor, Maine, from 1974 until her retirement in 2012. She also volunteered with Maine People’s Alliance in Bangor for three years.

Sister is survived by: two sisters: Mary Lajoie of Las Vegas, Nevada, and Hannah Clark of Pearl River, New York; and many nephews and nieces.

There will be no visiting hours due to COVID.

A private Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Joseph Convent on May 13, 2022, at 10:30 a.m.

The burial will be at St. Joseph Cemetery, Biddeford, Maine.

Arrangements are by Hope Memorial Chapel. To share condolences online, please visit www.HopeMemorial.com.