WEST HARTFORD – Sister Mary (Agneta) Reagan, a member of the Sisters of Mercy, died on Dec. 28, 2010, at St. Mary Home. She was 86 and had been in religious life for 68 years.

A Bridgeport native, she was the daughter of the late Daniel and Nellie (Haggerty) Reagan. She received a bachelor’s degree in history from St. Joseph College in West Hartford and master’s and doctoral degrees in art history from The Catholic University of America in Washington. She also held a sixth-year certificate in American studies from Fairfield University and certificates in Spanish and Italian culture and art from Dante University in Rome; she earned these as a Fulbright Scholar.

Sister Mary taught elementary grades through college, including at the former Mount St. Joseph Academy, Lauralton Hall in Milford and Mercy High School in Middletown. She was a professor for five years at St. Joseph College and, from 1980 to her retirement in 1997, was academic dean and a professor at Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Cromwell.

She was a member of the Renaissance Society of America, Catholic Historical Association and National Catholic Fine Arts Society. She helped the Consortium of Colleges in the Greater Hartford Area to develop a program in American studies, wrote and produced television documentaries, and conducted travel-study tours in Italy, Israel and Ireland.

Sister Mary’s brother, Daniel, predeceased her. She is survived by her community and a niece, Sarah Kirtland of New York.

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Jan. 3 in the chapel at St. Mary Home. Burial was in St. Mary Cemetery.

Memorial donations may be made to the Sisters of Mercy, 55 E. Cedar St., Newington, CT 06111.