She was the daughter of the late Mary Susan Gee and Michael Patrick Harkins. Born Hilda Mae Harkins on June 2, 1930 in the St. Anne Community of Leake County, she was the 11th of 12 children.
After early education in local schools, she was a boarding student at St. Francis Xavier Academy in Vicksburg, MS. After high school graduation, in 1948, she entered the convent of the Religious Sisters of Mercy in Webster Groves, MO. Her baccalaureate degree was from Our Lady of the Lake College in San Antonio, TX. For several decades she taught in Mercy schools throughout Mississippi and New Orleans, LA.
Later in life she began a second career qualifying for retirement from the public school system of Rankin County, MS. As a lay person, she chose to retain her name in religious life, Lalande, one of the Jesuit martyrs during colonial times. She touched the lives of thousands of children during her life. Within her family she exhibited the Christian life well-lived, love and kindness hallmarks of her life.
In addition to her parents, she was predeceased by five brothers, John Patrick (Bobbye),
Bennie William, Robert Michael (Josephine and Joy), Ansley Honeyford and Thomas Maloney, and six sisters, Agnes Parthenia (Noel) Caffey, Beulah Elizabeth (Richard) Luckett, Sister Mary Cyrena, R.S.M.(Margaret), Mary Rose, Grace Pauline (Frank) Callahan and Virginia Teresa (Winn) Beckham. She is survived by two sisters-in-law, Barbara Kilpatrick Harkins and June Harkins and a score of nieces and nephews, their spouses, their children and grandchildren.
The family is grateful for the loving care of Lalande in recent years by her nephew and his wife, Steve and Lesa Waggener.
Religious services will take place at St. Paul Catholic Church, 5971 MS-25, Flowood, MS on Saturday, December 7. Visitation will begin at 10 A.M., with the Funeral Mass at 11A.M. Interment will follow at The Columbarium of St. Richard Catholic Church, 1242 Lynwood Drive, Jackson, MS. Those wishing to make donations in her memory should direct them to St. Paul Church.
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