Sister Julia was born in New Orleans, LA. After entering MMS in 1948 she earned a B.A. in 1952, then in 1953, a master’s degree in Library Science from Catholic University in Washington, D.C.
Sister Julia worked as a librarian and in publicity in MMS’s Philadelphia office, then in admissions from 1957-1961 at Holy Family Hospital in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. She next went to the Philippines for one year to serve in the novitiate office. She returned to Philadelphia in 1962 and for the next several years was a librarian in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. and staff member at St. Vincent’s Hospital and Child Study Center in Philadelphia.
In 1972 Sr. Julia earned an MSW from St. Louis University and worked as a social worker in St. Louis, MO and Las Vegas, NM. She began teaching college level courses in 1975 and earned her PhD in Sociology in 1983. She taught for 12 years at Arkansas State University.
When she retired from teaching, Sister Julia volunteered in prison ministry, in a soup kitchen, as a child advocate, parish worker and chaplain. She lived in Louisiana, Arizona and Florida before returning to Philadelphia in 2007. Sister was down-to-earth and diplomatic yet frank in voicing her opinions about social justice and bureaucracy. Her life was her mission.