Obituary: Sister Margaret Theresa Oettinger, OP
By: The Good Newsroom
Sister Margaret spent six decades in education, mission work, and hospital ministry
Sister Margaret Theresa Oettinger, OP, of the Dominican Sisters, Sparkill, entered eternal life at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center on April 6, 2026. She was 82 years old.
Maureen Oettinger was born in New York City on June 24, 1943, to William and Margaret Molohan Oettinger. She entered the Dominican Congregation of Our Lady of the Rosary in Sparkill on September 8, 1962, and received the name Sister Margaret Theresa. She professed her first vows in 1964 and final vows in 1969.
Sister Margaret earned a B.S. in Education from St. Thomas Aquinas College in Sparkill in 1967 and an M.A. in Education from Manhattan College in the Bronx in 1975. She became a board-certified chaplain in 1991.
Sister Margaret began her ministry at the Dominican Sisters Villa Infirmary in Sparkill (1964-1965) as a nurse’s aide. Her teaching ministry included Sacred Heart School, Suffern (1965-1967); St. Mary Magdalene School, Springfield Gardens (1967-1969); St. Catherine Labouré, Lake Katrine (1969-1973); and St. John Chrysostom School (1973-1981). In 1981, Sister Margaret volunteered to serve in the Dominican Sisters of Sparkill Mission in the Multan Diocese in Pakistan.
A life dedicated to teaching, mission, and pastoral care
From 1981 to 1989, she served as a teacher supervisor in the Dominican Convent School and as a pastoral minister at Nishtour Hospital. Upon her return to the United States, Sister Margaret ministered as a CPE Pastoral Assistant at NYU Medical Center (1989-1990); as a Pastoral Care Assistant at Hospital for Special Surgery and New York-Presbyterian Hospital (1993-2004); and as Director of Pastoral Care at Hospital for Special Surgery from 1992 until 2025.
Sister Margaret is predeceased by her parents, William and Margaret, as well as her siblings: Peter, Billy, Barbara, Peggy, Bobby, Roseanne, Patrick, and Kathy. She is survived by her beloved brother, Jimmy, and her beloved nieces, nephews, Dominican Sisters, and Associates.
The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at the Our Lady of the Rosary Chapel, Sparkill, on Wednesday, April 15, at 11 a.m. Visitation is Wednesday, April 15, 2026, from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. at Dominican Convent, 175 Route 340, Sparkill, NY 10976. Interment will be in St. Agnes Cemetery. Arrangements are by Higgins Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Dominican Sisters at the above address, attention: Sr. Irene Ellis, Prioress.