Sister Rita Marie von Berg, who was the CEO and chairman of the board of the former St. Joseph’s Hospital in Parkersburg and the administrator at Wheeling Hospital in Wheeling, will turn 100 on Aug. 27. She is with her dog, Gibbs. (Photo Provided)

PARKERSBURG — The sister who ran St. Joseph’s Hospital and Wheeling Hospital is turning 100 next week.

Sister Rita Marie von Berg, CSJ, will celebrate her centennial on Aug. 27.

“I thank God every day for the graces and blessings he has bestowed on me and the gifts of body and soul He has given me,” she said.

Sister Rita Marie was born in South Wheeling to Peter Paul and Anastasia von Berg. She entered the Congregation of Sisters of St. Joseph in 1939 and is celebrating 81 years of religious life.

She is a graduate of the Wheeling Hospital School of Nursing, received a bachelor’s of science in nursing from Catholic University at Washington, D.C., and a master’s in counseling and guidance from Ohio University in Athens.

Sister Rita Marie was a nurse educator at St. Mary’s Hospital in Clarksburg and was director of nursing at the St. Francis School of Nursing in Charleston.

She was a nurse at Wheeling Hospital, founded in 1850 by Roman Catholic Bishop Richard Whelan, from 1941-1944 and director of the School of Nursing there from 1956-1958. She was administrator of Wheeling Hospital, the last sister who was an administrator at Wheeling Hospital, from 1958-1964.

Sister Rita Marie was chief executive officer from 1964 to 1976 at St Joseph’s Hospital in Parkersburg, then owned by the Sisters of St. Joseph. She was the chairman of the Board of Directors from 1976 to 1991 at St. Joe’s and was on the Sisters of St. Joseph Leadership Team from 1989 to 1993.

She resides in Torch, Ohio, and contributes her talents to St. Ambrose Catholic Church and the Mid-Ohio Valley. Sister Rita Marie is proud of her involvement with the Red Cross Disaster Nursing, providing care to victims from Hurricane Andrew and floods in the Albright, W.Va., area.

An animal enthusiast, she raised nubian goats that provided milk to many families with children who required a special diet and milk. She has three dogs, two cats and two fish that keep her active and amused with their antics.

She was active in the Clown Club and delighted in raising the spirits of children and the sick as Whugy the Clown.

Sister Rita Marie also is an enthusiastic and avid West Virginia sports and WVU football fan who has attended many football games, both at home and away. Opposing fans consider her loud and boisterous.

Well into her late 70s, Sister Rita played basketball in the West Virginia Senior Women’s League. Her team won and was presented with the championship trophy, although she will tell folks the other team did not show up.

She is considered a fine shot in both trap and target shooting and among her interests are outdoor sports, camping, wildlife photography and white water rafting on the New River.

Her favorite motto is “Live, love, laugh.”

“I believe in my heart that I live life to the fullest, I love God and all He has created with a passion, and I laugh a lot,” Sister Marie said. “In whatever years I have left, with God’s help, they will be lived in the spirit of gentleness, peace, and joy.”