Frances Virginia, the third of seven children (one of whom died in infancy) of Felix and Ethel Veronica Buckman Hayden, was born April 16,1917, in Graves County, Ky. One month later, she was baptized at St. Jerome Church, Fancy Farm. In September 1921, Frances began her formal education at St. Charles, Bardwell. She continued there through grade eight.
On January 20, 1934, Frances Virginia, along with three other young ladies, entered the novitiate at Mount Saint Joseph to begin preparation for the life of an Ursuline. On August 14, 1934, she received the Ursuline habit and the name Sister Mary Mercy. During the novitiate and in summer school sessions at Mount Saint Joseph Junior College and Academy, Sister continued her education.
Soon after professing temporary vows in August 1936, Sister was given charge of the kitchen at the Motherhouse for six years. She then served three years as housekeeper at St. Bernard Academy, Nebraska City, Neb. She again was given charge of the Motherhouse kitchen for seven years.
In 1954, Sister Mary Mercy began classroom teaching and continued in that ministry for 27 years. Her first teaching assignments were SS. Joseph and Paul in Owensboro, and Fairfield, Ky. In 1967, she was missioned to Grants, N.M., and in 1970, to Glennonville, Mo. She came back to Kentucky in 1971 and opened St. Pius X Day Care and Kindergarten in Owensboro. During the 10 years under her leadership, St. Pius X became known throughout the city as a model Day Care Center and Kindergarten. In 1981, Sister was appointed to the health care staff at the Motherhouse infirmary. In 1988, she began a new ministry at St. Pius X Parish in Calvert City, Ky. She remained there as director of Religious Education and minister to the sick and homebound until 1996.
Sister Mary Mercy was a deeply spiritual woman, whose gift of compassion, composure and undivided attention to others created a sense of tranquility among those with whom she lived and worked. No matter where she ministered, she loved the place, the people, especially the children and found real joy in living life to the fullest.
In April 1996, while at Calvert City, Sister Mary Mercy entered Lourdes Hospital in Paducah, suffering from acute leukemia. She died there, May 25, 1996. Father Pike Powell celebrated the funeral Mass at Mount Saint Joseph on May 27, followed by the burial service in the convent cemetery where Sister’s remains are buried. Among her survivors was her Ursuline sister, Sister Ethelreda.