Sister of Charity of Nazareth Alfreda Crantz, formerly Sister Mary Arthur, died Dec. 13. She was 101 and in her 70th year of religious life.
Sister Crantz, a native of Vulcan, Mich., ministered as a nurse and anesthetist in Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri and overseas in Vietnam and Nepal. Over the years, she served as a nurse and nursing supervisor in the operating room, emergency room and in pediatric units.
In Kentucky, Sister Crantz served at St. Joseph Hospital in Lexington, St. Joseph Infirmary, Ss. Mary and Elizabeth Hospital and Hazelwood Hospital in Louisville, Marymount Hospital in London, and Flaget Memorial Hospital in Bardstown.
In 1970 Sister Crantz traveled to South Vietnam where she served as a nursing advisor for the U.S. Agency for International Development at Nha Trang Hospital. In 1978 she ministered for two years as a surgical nurse at Bir Hospital in Kathmandu, Nepal. She also served in Honduras after Hurricane Fifi.
Sister Crantz served her religious community caring for sick sisters, serving as the admitting and discharge coordinator, as a sacristan in the Motherhouse chapel and in the gift shop.
She volunteered for several organizations, including Ss. Mary and Elizabeth Hospital, where she served for more than 30 years. She also volunteered at Actors Theater of Louisville, the Kentucky Center for the Arts, Cumberland Daycare, Our Lady of Peace Hospital and as the health care liaison for leadership for the SCNs.
Sister Crantz is survived by nieces and nephews and members of her religious community.
The wake will be at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 18 at St. Vincent de Paul Church on the Motherhouse campus in Nazareth. The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. Dec. 19 in St. Vincent de Paul Church and live streamed at nazareth.org/live. Burial will follow in Nazareth Cemetery.
