A pioneering Catholic nun who went on to become one of the first women to be sworn in as an FBI special agent died last week at the age of 83.
Joan Pierce Misko, who earned the iconic nickname “The Nun with the Gun,” has died of a lung infection at a hospital in Wheatfield, New York. he told the Washington Post.
Misko made history multiple times throughout her illustrious career, including making the incredible leap from Bride of God to Lady of the Law.
A law enforcement pioneer born in Niagara Falls in 1941, she taught at Buffalo Catholic Schools for 10 years and was a member of the Sisters of Mercy Convent. There she subtly hinted that her passion might lie elsewhere.
“She always wanted to play Crews. That was supposed to be the cue.” He told WGRZ in 2022.
Misko traded his habit for a badge in 1970 and began working as a researcher for the unit. And just two years later, she was promoted to special agent.
The death in 1972 of J. Edgar Hoover, the FBI director who tightened restrictions on women during Prohibition, opened the door for Ms. Misko to apply for the job, which she took at age 31.
In July, Misko and former Marine Susan Lowry joined 43 other men at the FBI Academy near Quantico, Virginia, to become the first female FBI special agents in nearly half a century, the bureau said.
“[Misko] And Rory quickly proved his mettle. Men began affectionately calling them “Nuns'' and “Marines.'' ” Discover Niagra said Of the people who made history. Misko later revealed that the women were provided with wallets in addition to guns and credentials.
Misko's career has not been easy. Shortly after taking the oath of office, she was deployed to Wounded Knee, South Dakota, during a 71-day conflict between federal agents and American Indian Movement protesters.
She was involved in at least one gunfight. She hid in an armored personnel carrier and handed ammunition to a fellow agent.
Misko was then given the task of tracking down fugitives from St. Louis, the first of whom was a military deserter who was “furious that women were being sent out to capture fugitives. I notified the FBI,” Misko said at a news conference. Interview with the station in 2012. “You know, he wasn't a proper man. He needed a woman to chase him.”
Misko made history again in the late 1970s when she became one of the first female supervisors at FBI headquarters in Washington. When she retired in 1994, she became the longest-serving female agent in FBI history.
Despite Misko's great success, unfortunately she faced a lot of discrimination in the workplace.
“I've never had anything terrible happen to me,” she once told The Buffalo News. “But there's always a small group of pushbacks, men who say, 'I'm not going to work for a woman.'”
After turning in her badge, Misko sued the agency for sex discrimination, claiming she was passed over for a promotion in favor of a less qualified male colleague, and accused the FBI of being an “old man's network.”
The lawsuit was settled for an undisclosed amount.
“Filing the case was one of the hardest things I've ever done in my life, because the majority of my feelings toward the FBI and the people I worked with are good feelings,” she told The Buffalo News. said in an interview. “For the most part, it was a great experience in a great law enforcement agency.”
Her many awards include the National Police Hall of Fame, the Silver Star for Courage, and the Law Enforcement Lifetime Achievement Award, which recognizes her “desire to advance the status of women in law enforcement and excellence in public service.” Includes awards. According to her obituary.
“Honestly, I never considered myself a trailblazer,” she said in an FBI interview. “That was a role that I was lucky enough to be a part of, and I was just fulfilling my role as a special agent. So I wasn't thinking about that at the time anyway.”
