Sheila Mary O'Toole (1929 – 10 June 2024), also known as Sister Mary Laurence, was a New Zealand

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

nun who worked in Western Samoa and Vietnam. She is the most decorated New Zealander in relation to Vietnam.

Biography

Sister Sheila O'Toole was a member of the order Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions. She worked with indigenous Montagnard refugees at Phuoc Binh in Phuoc Long province from March 1969 to April 1975. She was in

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during the Vietnam War, was held in a prisoner of war camp, and was one of the last people to depart from the United States Embassy in April 1975. She also helped Vietnamese orphans leave Saigon in

Operation Babylift Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...

. O'Toole returned to Vietnam in 1992 and spent another 12 years there, including working at a hospital for leprosy patients. She introduced fellow New Zealander Sally Morrison to the hospital and Morrison spent many years supporting the centre. In the

1986 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1986 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countrie ...

, O'Toole was appointed a

Companion of the Queen's Service Order The Queen's Service Order, established by royal warrant of Queen Elizabeth II on 13 March 1975, is used to recognise "valuable voluntary service to the community or meritorious and faithful services to the Crown or similar services within the pu ...

for community service in Western Samoa. In the

2004 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2004 were appointments by some of the Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrations ...

, she was made a

Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant (document), royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Monarchy of New Zealand, Queen of New Zealand, "for those ...

, for services as a welfare worker. In 2007, O'Toole published her memories of Vietnam in ''Behind the Visor: My Life in Wartorn Vietnam.'' In August 2019, O'Toole celebrated her 90th birthday and in January 2020, she celebrated 70 years of service. She died at Atawhai Assisi in Newstead, on 10 June 2024, at the age of 94.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:OToole, Sheila 1929 births 2024 deaths New Zealand memoirists Women in the Vietnam War New Zealand missionaries Companions of the Queen's Service Order Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit New Zealand Roman Catholic religious sisters and nuns 20th-century New Zealand Roman Catholic nuns 21st-century New Zealand Roman Catholic nuns