Maui-born Maryknoll Sister Bernadette Higa, who served in Taiwan, Bangladesh and Hawaii, died March 12 at the Maryknoll Sisters Center in Maryknoll, New York, with her sister Mary Louise Higa, also a Maryknoll Sister, by her side. She was 93, and a Maryknoll Sister for 68 years.
Sister Bernadette’s birth name was Shigeko. She was born in Kaupakalua, Maui, on Oct. 12, 1925, to Kame (Miyashiro) Higa and Ushi Higa. She had two brothers and seven sisters. One brother and three sisters have predeceased her. She was very close to her sister, Sister Mary Louise, who is an active member of the Maryknoll congregation.
Shigeko became interested in the Catholic faith in eighth grade. She was baptized Bernadette on Aug. 14, 1943, at Sacred Heart Church in Honolulu.
She attended Maui High School for one year, McKinley High School in Honolulu for two years and Maryknoll High School in Honolulu for two years, graduating in 1945. Bernadette and Mary Louise both studied at St. Francis Hospital School of Nursing in Honolulu from 1946 to 1949 and became registered nurses.
From 1949 to 1950, Bernadette worked at St. Francis Hospital. She then entered the Maryknoll Sisters novitiate with her sister in Valley Park, Missouri, on Feb. 1, 1951, from St. Stephen Parish in Honolulu. She received the religious name Sister Marie Bernadette. She made her first profession of vows on Sept. 8, 1953, and spent the rest of the year working in the outpatient clinic at the Maryknoll Sisters Center. In 1954, Sister Bernadette was assigned to Queen of the World Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri. While there she made her final vows on Sept. 8, 1959.
She then was assigned to Taiwan, and from 1960-1972, worked with indigenous people in a pre- and post-natal clinic and a well-baby clinic, and held nutrition classes.
In 1973, Sister Bernadette returned to St. Francis Hospital in Honolulu for a refresher course in general nursing and classes at Chaminade College of Honolulu where she earned a bachelor’s degree in general studies.
After two years of congregational service at the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Sister Bernadette was assigned to the congregation’s new mission project in Bangladesh. While waiting for her visa to Bangladesh, she worked in a Honolulu surgeon’s clinic for one year. In Bangladesh, she taught Natural Family Planning for three years.
Sister Bernadette returned to Hawaii in 1984 to serve as an assistant chaplain at the Hawaii State Hospital. She also studied Clinical Pastoral Education, counseled patients in a mental hospital and provided religious services until 1994.
Sister Bernadette returned to the Maryknoll Sisters Center, working as a clerk/typist in the admissions office until 1997. She then returned to Hawaii to do volunteer work in the regional office, and visit the sick in their homes and in the hospital.
In 2006, Sister Bernadette retired at the Maryknoll Sisters retirement house in Monrovia, California, where she remained until 2011. She returned to the Maryknoll Sisters Center due to declining health and remained there until her death. Her funeral is scheduled for March 27 at the sisters center.
