Sister Damian Marie Atkinson

Sister Damian Marie Atkinson died on December 25,2016 at Holy Angels
Convent Infirmary. She was born on November 17, 1931, one of eleven children
born to Roma and Clara Deckard. Loretta Deckard was married to Leslie Atkinson
in 1953. They had one son. Her husband died in 1975 and her son in 2014. After
her husband's death, she joined the Catholic Church and discerned pursuing
Religious life. She entered Holy Angels Convent in 1981. She worked in the
Pastoral Care Department at St. Bernards Medical Center for over twenty-five
years.
Before coming to Holy Angels, Loretta Deckard served in the United States
Navy for four years. After moving to Maryland, she worked as a nurse at the
Springfield State Hospital for twenty-four years. In 1977, she donated a kidney to
her brother, Melville Eugene Deckard. This was the beginning of her dedication to
the patients in the Dialysis Unit at St. Bernards Medical Center.
Survivors include one sister, Jerlene Harden of Bloomington, IN; a special
niece and nephew, Shelly Davers and Dwight Deckard, of Indiana; a brother-in-law
who was like her son, Norman Atkinson, of Maryland; and all her Sisters in her
religious family.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Holy Angels Convent
Retirement Fund, P.O. Box 1209, Jonesboro, AR 72403.
Visitation will be at Holy Angels Convent on Tuesday, December 27 at 7 :00
p.m., with the Mass of Christian Burial on Wednesday, December 28 at 10:00 a.m.
Fr. Vincent Udo will be the celebrant at the Mass. Pall bearers will be members of
the Knights of Columbus from Blessed Sacrament Church.

To register online go to www.emersonfuneralhome.com