Nora Cummins was born March 11, 1883 at Burlington Junction, Missouri. Her father was a native of Ireland; her mother, also of Irish ancestry, was born in Massachusetts. Nora entered at Clyde on Jan. 5, 1901, was invested Aug. 5, 1901 and made profession on Aug. 5, 1902, receiving the name of Sister M. Patricia. She sealed her commitment to her Bridegroom with perpetual vows on Sept. 27, 1907. She was an older sister of Sisters M. Blandina and Anna Hanora, and of Fathers Patrick and Damien of Conception Abbey.

Sister was a very warm-hearted person, loving and beloved by all. She was often spoken of by those who lived with her as having been a model religious and a heroic sufferer during her final illness. Her two Sisters especially felt that she had a great influence on their lives and particularly on their religious vocation.

Sister M. Patricia taught at the Academy until she contracted tuberculosis, from which she died after a comparatively short illness, on Jan. 17, 1912 at the age of twenty-nine.