Sister Dorothy Ann Pyle

Sister Dorothy Ann Pyle, age 89, died at Villa St. Michael in Emmitsburg, Maryland on August 8, 2025. She was born March 28, 1936, in Baltimore, Maryland to Lester and Mary (Cassidy) Pyle. Sister Dorothy Ann graduated from Seton High School in Baltimore in 1954 and entered the Daughters of Charity on March 22, 1956, from Blessed Sacrament Parish. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education in 1961 from St. Joseph College in Emmitsburg and her Master of Social Work in 1968 from Fordham University in New York, New York.

Following initial formation, Sister Dorothy Ann taught at Our Lady Queen of Peace School in Washington, D.C. and then served as a teacher and group worker at Astor Home for Children in Rhinebeck, New York. After a year of study, she went to St. Joseph’s Villa in Richmond, Virginia as a group worker. Sister Dorothy Ann then used her Social Work degree in various ways and places: St. Vincent’s Home and School in Washington, D.C.; St. Ann’s Infant Home, Hyattsville, Maryland; St. Francis Parish in Staunton, Virginia; Seton Center, Emmitsburg; St. Joseph’s House in Raleigh, North Carolina; and Immaculate Conception Parish in Baltimore. In 1981, Sister Dorothy was missioned to Fayetteville, North Carolina to establish a regional headquarters for Catholic Social Ministries. She remained in this ministry for the next 18 years, including ten years as a lay woman. Under her leadership, the CARE Clinic was founded in 1993 to serve uninsured adults in need of medical and dental care, a clinic that remains to this day. After discerning a call to return to the Community and a period of formation, Sister Dorothy served as Director at Seton Center, Emmitsburg. Her next ministries were as Outreach Coordinator at St. Joseph Parish, Petersburg, Virginia and Outreach Worker at St. Cyprian Parish in Georgetown, South Carolina. In 2010, Sister Dorothy was missioned to Villa St. Michael in Emmitsburg where she served in the Ministry of Prayer until her death.

Sister Dorothy Ann was preceded in death by her parents and brother, Richard Pyle. She is survived by her sister-in-law, Joan Pyle, nieces and nephews, friends, and her Sisters in Community.

A Wake Service will be held on Tuesday, August 12 at 4:00 pm in the Villa Chapel in Emmitsburg. The Mass of Christian Burial will be at 11:00 am on Wednesday, August 13, also in the Villa Chapel. Burial will follow in the Sacred Heart Cemetery on the grounds.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in Sister Dorothy Ann’s name to the Daughters of Charity, 4330 Olive Street, Saint Louis, Missouri 63108.