For the children at St. John Regional, it was hard to separate their sister from their school.

Ann Morea Duana remembers when the new principal, Sister Irene Turgeon, arrived 25 years ago. Faith was plentiful at the school then, but space and money were not.

"When I think of St. John, I think Sister Irene," said Morea Duana. "I think of her absolute dedication."

Katie Pedro, 15, remembers the year Turgeon left. St. John was bigger, better funded and regarded as one of the best Catholic schools in the state. Pedro was in eighth grade, and her graduation was Turgeon's last.

"We spent the whole year praying for her," Pedro said. "She didn't have a lot of strength, but she came to school. It was sad to know that we were the last class to have her. I almost forgot that she wasn't there."

Last week, Pedro, Morea Duana and many other St. John alumni learned that their former principal had died Thursday after a long battle with ovarian cancer. She was 74, and had spent the bulk of her adult life improving Concord's only Catholic elementary school.

Between arriving at St. John and leaving in 2007, when she grew too weak to work full time, Turgeon expanded the school and built a strong base of volunteers. She broadened the curriculum to include Spanish for even the youngest students, and helped found a nonprofit to financially support the school and provide scholarships to many families.

"She dedicated her whole entire life to the school," said school board Vice Chairwoman Carolyn Gaudet. "Words are endless to describe how wonderful she was."

But Turgeon's role went beyond administration. She made a point of knowing each child personally, meeting with students to go over their report cards and asking questions about their families, friends and passions. And she always, always, always kept her door open.

Morea Duana walked through that door often, as a student, as a Spanish teacher and as a parent with a toddler who would eventually attend St. John.

"Whenever I would go back to the school, I would always feel so welcome," she said. "I could pop into the office. Sister Irene would be there, and she would drop whatever she was doing."

Born Aug. 23, 1943, Turgeon grew up in Massachusetts, helping on her parents' farm, where she learned about hard work and the Catholic faith. Two of her aunts were cloistered, and she and her siblings were involved with their local parish. In 1953, Turgeon entered the order of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur. A few years later, her younger sister, Bernadette Turgeon, followed.

"It wasn't uncommon for my father to have two jobs, my mother worked from home. We always had a farm. Everybody had to help," said Bernadette Turgeon. "We come from a great work ethic."

The two women lived together in Manchester and were at home together when Turgeon died. The Sisters of Notre Dame has a mission of education and youth outreach, and both women loved their work. Irene Turgeon commuted to Concord, while her sister ran youth retreats in Manchester, including many for students from St. John.

Turgeon had decades of experience as an educator by the time she came to Concord, but St. John needed leadership as much as anything else. Turgeon called on the community to help with fundraisers and planning, and she relied heavily on the work ethic she learned as a child.

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