Sr. Rita Carmen Bergamini (Sr. Marie Carmen), age 103, a Sister of Providence for 81 years, died January 19, 2025 at St. Joseph Residence, Seattle.
Sr. Rita was born on July 16, 1921 in Martinez, California, to her Italian immigrant parents Maximillian and Adalgiza (Lambruschini) Bergamini. She was nurtured in a lively and sensitive family of three brothers and five sisters in a house enriched with classical music, art, movies and nature. She enjoyed sports.
After graduating high school, Sr. Rita enrolled in Providence College of Nursing in Oakland, California, graduating in 1942. She received a BS in Nursing Education from Seattle University in 1950, a MS degree in nursing education from Catholic University of America in 1954 and a PhD in Nursing Administration from UC Berkely in 1964.
The seeds of religious life began to appear during nursing school, and she entered the Novitiate in 1943, made First Vows in 1945 and Final Vows in 1948.
Sr. Rita served in nursing ministry at St. Vincent Hospital, Portland, Oregon (1945-47); St. Elizabeth Hospital, Yakima, Washington (1947-48); St. Mary Hospital School of Nursing, Walla Walla, Washington (1950-53); and Providence Hospital Clinical Unit, Seattle University School of Nursing (1954-60). In 1961, she received a U.S. Public Health Service Nurse Fellowship Award. Starting in 1964, for seven years, Sr. Rita ministered as her religious community’s Provincial Secretary.
She was well-known for her love of archives, and for being an endless source of information on the history of the community. Because she was factual, efficient, dedicated and organized, in 1972 she began her ministry as the first archivist of the former Sacred Heart Province. She delighted in reading, recording details in a tight, neat script and sharing information with others. Sr. Rita recognized the value of a religious community’s archives and wanted to ensure that the history of women Religious in the U.S. was not overlooked.
Sr. Rita is to be thanked for helping to prepare the background material for the successful effort to place a statue of Mother Joseph in National Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol Building.
She retired from active ministry in 1999 but continued to do projects in Providence Archives and collect donations for the poor. She enjoyed making greeting cards, gardening, listening to classical music, observing the “absolute beauty” of the seagulls, Puget Sound, Olympic Mountains, sunsets, trees, crows, and ferry rides. She was profoundly grateful to God, family, her religious community and friends. She is immensely missed.