(Sister Germaine of the Seven Dolors)
1919-2017
Born in French-speaking Clarence Creek, Ontario, Sister Germaine Chabot met the Sisters of Providence at her summer job at Sacred Heart Hospital in Hull, Quebec, and entered the religious community in 1937.
After graduation from St. Joseph School of Nursing in Vancouver, Wash., she became a registered nurse in various Sisters of Providence hospitals, including in Seattle and Portland. She also was an administrator/superior at St. Peter Hospital, Olympia, Wash., Providence Hospital, Seattle, Providence Hospital in Everett, Wash., and St. Elizabeth Hospital in Yakima, Wash.
After a brief time at Providence Anchorage Hospital in Alaska, she enrolled in the clinical pastoral education program in Oakland, Calif., and then began a pastoral care ministry at Providence Portland Medical Center, where she would later become a chaplain and remain for 41 years.
Her favorite ministry was to assist the dying in the Intensive Care Unit and the Emergency Department. “It gave me great satisfaction to be present and pray with the patient and family at their last moments on earth,” she said.
Sister Germaine retired in 1992. Today she lives at St. Joseph Residence, Seattle, where her ministry is prayer and presence.