Kalaupapa patients trusted, cherished their ‘fishing nun’

Sister Richard Marie Toal, who served leprosy patients on Kalaupapa for more than 40 years and was known as the "fishing nun," died Sunday at St. Francis Convent in Manoa. She was 96.

Toal was born in Camden, N.J., and in 1937 entered the St. Francis religious order, now known as the Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities, according to the Catholic Diocese of Hono­lulu.

Mary Adamski, a retired Star-Bulletin religion reporter who developed a friendship with the nun over 20 years, said Toal volunteered to work on Molokai in 1960, inspired by the selfless devotion of Damien De Veuster and Marianne Cope, who were later declared saints.

Toal, a registered nurse, held supervisory positions until she retired in 2000, but continued at Kalaupapa as a volunteer changing patients’ bandages until she was hindered by a stroke in 2005, Adamski said.

In a 2010 Honolulu Star-Bulletin article, Adamski quoted retired practical nurse Frances Padeken as saying, "I remember that most of the (leprosy) patients there called her ‘Mother.’ … She was like a mother to them. She was that close and they trusted her. She is genuine. She lives her vows."

Adamski got to know Toal while covering Damien’s impending sainthood, sometimes staying in the Kalaupapa convent, and would later take over pizza and beer to "Marie." She accompanied Toal on her daily fishing jaunts to the shoreline, where she’d fly-cast in knee-deep water, wearing a long-skirted white nun’s habit and veil. The funny thing was "she never ate any of the fish," just gave them away to everyone on the isolated peninsula, including "the best-fed cats," Adamski said.

A photo of the "fishing nun" was published in a book about Molokai by Richard A. Cooke III, and later in National Geographic magazine, Adamski said. "She was happy, happy in Kalaupapa and wanted to be the free spirit, fishing virtually every day," she said.

Toal didn’t want to live in the structured environment of the Manoa convent once she had the stroke, but gained contentment "in the arms of good friends" who cared for her, Adamski said. On Thursday, Toal — sedated — raised her head in response to her favorite Irish tunes Adamski sang for her.

"I’m sure she started comparing notes with Mother Marianne the minute she got up there (heaven). She was just so real … not worldly at all. She worked hard and let go of it all. The way she lived was a profound statement," Adamski said.

Wake services will be held Friday at 3:30 p.m. at the St. Francis Convent Chapel, followed by Mass at 4:30 p.m. A private burial service will be held Saturday at 9 a.m. at Diamond Head Cemetery.