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Sister Jean Baptiste Nicholson, O.S.U., who served in leadership positions at The Ursuline School in New Rochelle for 35 years, died March 23 at White Plains Hospital. She was 75.
She was named principal of The Ursuline School in 1974 and took on the additional role as president from 2005 to 2009, when she was given the title president emerita. She was a teacher at The Ursuline School from 1965 to 1969.
Under the leadership of Sister Jean Baptiste, familiarly known as JB, the school was honored three times as a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence.
A native New Yorker and graduate of the Academy of Mount St. Ursula in the Bronx, she entered the Ursulines in 1954 and made her final vows in 1960. She graduated from the College of New Rochelle with a degree in classics and went on to earn a master’s degree in Latin and Greek at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.
She taught at the Ursuline Academy in Bethesda, Md., 1960-1964, then taught for a year at St. Joseph’s Academy in Malone, N.Y. She was principal of St. Joseph’s from 1969 to 1974, when she became principal of The Ursuline School.
As principal in New Rochelle, she oversaw an enriched curriculum, expanded athletic programs in competitive sports and increased programs for student personal and spiritual development. She also served as a student adviser and taught Greek and Latin courses at 7:30 a.m.
Sister Jean Baptiste created collaborative relationships in the community, notably with HOPE Community Services and with two neighbors, Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church and Beth El Synagogue, and opened the school’s facilities to local community groups in New Rochelle. She served on the board of trustees of the College of New Rochelle.
She is survived by three sisters, Margaret Ann Fenn, Marie Frances Guiney, and Helene Mary Lennon, and was predeceased by a brother, John.
A Funeral Mass was offered March 26 at Holy Family Chapel at the College of New Rochelle. Burial was in Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Valhalla.
