Beloved Educator Passes Away After Sickness

Longtime Hyattsville resident Sr. Joyce Volpini passed away July 31 after a battle with cancer.

Volpini was principal at St. Jerome’s Catholic School—now St. Jerome Academy— for over 35 years before being asked to leave by St. Jerome’s Catholic Church in 2009.

According to a Facebook post by her brother Andy, Volpini was living in Glen Arm, MD at the time of her death.

The school was going through a formal consultation by the Archdiocese of Washington. During this time, largely because of the national economic downturn, Catholic schools were closing their doors and St. Jerome's needed to make some changes to ensure the school would not be shut down.

Fr. James Stack, of St. Jerome's Church, also later asked Volpini and her fellow Notre Dame de Namur sisters to vacate the convent next to the school. A child daycare center, part of the convent, allegedly was experiencing financial hardship.

According to the church's website, Sr. Geri MacPhee is still on board as the Child Center director.

Mary Pat Donoghue, who attended the school as a child and was taught by Volpini, is now principal there.

The funeral will be at 1 p.m. Aug. 6 at St. Jerome's Church.

A Facebook page has been set up in tribute to Volpini and several have left comments remembering her as an understanding person who could be trusted.