Obituary of Mary-Katherine Heffern

Mary-Katherine Rellahan Heffern, 89, of Lawrenceville died peacefully at home on Tuesday, October 3, 2017. Born in Grand Forks, North Dakota, Mary-Katherine had been a resident of Lawrenceville since 1964. She was educated at the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she received her degree in public health nursing. She continued her education and trained in nursing at St. Luke’s Hospital in New York City. Married and raising five children at home, she returned to her passion of nursing when she joined what was then the McCosh Infirmary of Princeton University as a night nurse. During her career with Princeton University, she furthered her education with management studies, advanced degrees, and certificates from The University of Pennsylvania, Rider University, and Brigham Young University. In retirement she continued to care for the health of students, working part-time well into her 70s in the Curtis W. McGraw Infirmary of The Lawrenceville School. She was a founding member of the NJ College Health Nurses Association and a member of the National Association of Pro-Life Nurses. An active member of the Church of St. Ann for many years Mary-Katherine served as a lay reader and was a member of the choir. Daughter of the late John J. Rellahan, Ph.D. and Jessie Raymond Rellahan and sister of the late William L. Rellahan, Ph.D.; Mary-Katherine is survived by her husband of 63 years, Adrian Francis Heffern, Jr.; her five children, William J. Heffern and his wife Rhonda of Carversville, PA, Katherine-Ann Heffern Zeph and her husband Lawrence of Durham, NC, Margaret M. Heffern Root and her husband James of Corona, CA, John A. Heffern and his wife Amy of Lawrenceville and James B. Heffern and his wife Sherry of Lawrenceville. Also surviving are her nine grandchildren, Alexandra, Juliana, Elizabeth, Jim, Christopher, Kathleen, Abigail, Caroline and Garrett. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated for Mary-Katherine on Saturday, October 7, 2017 at 11:00AM the Church of St. Ann, 1253 Lawrence Road, Lawrenceville, NJ. Burial will follow in the Lawrenceville Cemetery. Visitation for relatives and friends will also be on Saturday from 10 to 11 AM in the daily chapel at the Church of St. Ann.