Pioneer of girl child education in NE passes away

Guwahati, Feb 7 (PTI) The pioneer of girl childeducation in north eastern region, 100-year-old Salesian nunSr Margaret Greppi died here today.

Sr Margaret, who worked in the field of education forthe past 75 years, passed away at St John''s Hospital at about3.40 am due to old age ailments, St Mary''s English High School(Maligaon) headmistress Sister Catherine said.

Born at Partengo, Vercelli in Italy on January 12,1912, she was initiated in the religious order founded bySalesian missionary Don Bosco at Nizza Monferrato in 1935 atthe age of 23.

The young nun left for India at the age 24 in 1936 andchose the North East as her field for work and successfullymotivated parents to send their daughters to school.

Sr Margaret worked as a catalyst for building variousinstitutions including St Mary''s English Higher SecondarySchool and Holy Child School in Guwahati, St Joseph''s atTezpur, Auxilium at Tangla, besides Sacred Heart at Mawlai inMeghalaya.

Having spent most of her life in Assam, she wasclosely associated with the people who fondly remember her assomeone very kind, patient, available at all time. Her lovefor the poor and the needy had made the nun an epitome ofhelp.

Sr Margaret''s Requiem Mass was held here at StMary''s Maligaon where the Salesain sisters and her students -past and present - as well as their parents and well wishersmourned the death.

There will also be a concelebrated Requiem Massat St Mary''s Convent Chapel, Guwahati, tomorrow followed bythe funeral cortege to the Uzan Bazar cemetery here, saidSalesian Guwahati Provincial Sr Teresa Puthenpurakel. PTI ESB