Join us as we thank God for the life of Sister Gail Collins, who died at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, September 13, 2025, at Nazareth Home in Louisville. May she rest in God’s eternal peace!

Gail Collins, SCN, 87, (formerly Sister Mary Celeste) was born July 29, 1938, in Brighton, Mass., to William Collins and Edna Marie Gibbons. After her mother’s early death in 1953, she was also raised by her stepmother, Dorothy O’Leary. She died September 13, 2025, in Louisville, Ky. She was a Sister of Charity of Nazareth for 66 years.

After completing her juniorate training at Nazareth, Ky., and attending the Catherine Spalding School of Practical Nursing in preparation for India, Sister Gail was assigned to the SCN mission in India. She arrived by boat in 1962 and began serving as a teacher in Gaya, India, as well as a librarian and the mistress of SCN candidates.

In 1969, she returned to Louisville and taught grades 5 and 6 at St. Frances of Rome. After attending the University of Wisconsin, she served as the director of graduate admissions at Spalding College.

For five years, Sister Gail lived in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, where she served as a chaplain and in social services in the Diocese of Calgary. She then moved to St. Louis, MO, where she worked for an attorney’s office and taught ESL until 1985. A certified teacher in T’ai Chi, Reiki, and massage therapy, she utilized her skills at The Spiritual Center in Little Falls, Minnesota.

Over the years, Sister Gail served her SCN Community in a variety of ways, regularly visiting Sisters at Nazareth Home in Louisville, as a community services coordinator at Nazareth Home in Louisville, and at St. Joseph Convent in Wakefield, Mass. She was secretary for Nazareth’s Mission Office and Office of Global Ministries.

She is survived by her SCN Community and her extended family.

Arrangements for Gail Collins, SCN, are as follows:

• • The Wake will begin at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025, in St. Vincent Church.
  • The Funeral will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 19, in the church
  • Burial will follow in the Nazareth Cemetery.
  • Services will be streamed live at nazareth.org/live.

Funeral Arrangements are being handled by Ratterman Funeral Home, 3800 Bardstown Road in Louisville. Memorials may be made to the Office of Mission Advancement, PO Box 9, Nazareth, KY, 40048.