Mary Anna (Engel) Whalen

    Mary Anna Whalen (Engel) 96 was reunited with Christ on July 19, 2026. Wife of the late Donald William Whalen (1993) and mother of Rev Timothy Francis, the late Rev. Daniel William (2017), Mark Donald (Terry), Donna Marie Zador (David) and Joseph John. Sister to the late Evelyn Seyerle (2012) Grandmother to Mary Jean (Jordan), the late Michael (2022), Timothy, Gregory, Daniel, Donnie, Luke and Cole. Great Grandmother to Ella and Philomena.

    Mary Anna was the beneficiary of a classic Catholic education. She first attended St. Catherine of Siena, Beechview, then she attended Resurrection Catholic School, in Brookline. She later graduated from Elizabeth Seton High School and went on to attend the St. Joseph Hospital School of Nursing and graduated with an R.N. degree in 1951. Mary Anna often said that, "I had always been profoundly inspired and influenced from my early formative years by the faith of my parents and the Sisters of St. Joseph." 

    Her marriage and family represented the most rewarding time of her life. Mary Anna used to say," Whenever we needed a dollar, God would give us ninety cents." In the early 70's, with two children in college, two in high school, and one in grade school, Mary Anna went back to work as a nurse at Kane Hospital, and eventually became a nurse supervisor and an expert in geriatric nursing. By 1996 she went on to become an associate member of the Sisters of St. Joseph. An active member of Resurrection Parish in Brookline, she taught RCIA, belonged to the Legion of Mary, and was a Eucharistic minister. She was also a lector and Eucharistic Minister at St. Thomas More Church. Since 2016 she has resided at The Little Sisters of the Poor in Brighton Heights.

Family and friends will be received at the Frank F. DeBor Funeral Home, 1065 Brookline Blvd. 412 561 0380, on Thursday, July 23 from 2 to 8 pm. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Friday July 24, at 10 am at St. Thomas More Church. A memorial Mass will be celebrated in the chapel of the Little Sisters of the Poor on July 27, at 11:00 am.

At the family's request, in lieu of flowers memorial donations in Mary Anna's name may be made to The Little Sisters of the Poor, 1028 Benton Ave. Pittsburgh PA 15212.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Mary Anna (Engel) Whalen, please visit our floral store.