Maryknoll Sisters

Maryknoll, NY — Sister Rose Duchesne Debrecht, MM, died peacefully on February 22, 2014, at Maryknoll Sisters Home Care, Maryknoll, NY. She was 91 years old and had been a Maryknoll Sister for 73 years.

Armella Elizabeth Debrecht, better known to her students and friends by her religious name, Sister Rose Duchesne, was born on November 20, 1922 to Aloys and Leona Schneider Debrecht in St. Peters, MO. Her parents, brother Glennon Debrecht, and sister Mildred Ochs predeceased her. She is survived by another sister, Virginia Debrecht of St. Charles, MO, a niece and two nephews.

Armella attended St. Peter’s High School, St. Charles, MO, graduating in 1940. She entered Maryknoll Sisters at their Center, Maryknoll, NY,  from St. Peter’s Parish on December 8, 1940. Her first Profession of Vows was made at the Maryknoll Sisters Motherhouse, Maryknoll, NY, on June 30, 1943, and her Final Vows on the same day, 1946, also at the Motherhouse.

A graduate of St. Louis University, St. Louis, MO, with an M.A. in geography, and Maryknoll Teachers College, Maryknoll, NY, with a bachelors in education, Sister Rose spent her entire missionary life in Hong Kong, where she was a teacher and principal from 1946-2006.

Sister Rose studied Cantonese in Hong Kong and Macau as well as Mandarin at St. Louis University, MO in 1978-79. She served at Maryknoll Convent School in Kowloontong first as a teacher in Form IV and V from 1952-1958, and principal of the Secondary Section from 1965-1972, supervising 37 teachers and approximately 900 students. Later, from 1983-1985, she also served as supervisor of Maryknoll Convent School’s Primary Section.

She taught at Maryknoll Sisters School at Blue Pool Road, Hong Kong, from 1958-1962.  From 1973-1978, when Kit Sam Middle School, Kwun Tong, was badly in need of a principal, Sister served there as both principal and teacher. From 1979-1985 Sister Rose served as matron at the student hostel at Adam Schall Residence, Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Following three years working at the Maryknoll Sisters Center in its Promotion and Mission Education office from 1985-1989, Sister Rose returned to Hong Kong, where she served in Regional Service Team Administration from 1989-1992, worked in communications for Union of Catholic Asian News  (UCAN) from 1989-1993, and tutored English in Kwun Tong and Kowloontong, from 1993-2012.

A Vesper service will be held for Sister Rose on Monday, March 3, 2014, at 4:15 p.m.,  in Annunciation Chapel, Maryknoll Sisters Center, Ossining, NY, followed by a Memorial Mass at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, March 4, 2014. Sister Rose gave her body to science with the hope that others might benefit from her donation.

Maryknoll, NY Sister Elizabeth Lee died suddenly on February 4, 2014, at Westchester Medical Center, Valhalla, NY. She was 89 years old and celebrated 70 years as a Maryknoll Sister in September of last year.

Elizabeth Lee was born on May 12, 1924, to Lou She Lee and William Lee in San  Francisco, CA.  She had two brothers, Andrew and Victor Lee, who predeceased her.

Elizabeth attended St. Mary’s High School, Pittsburgh, PA, from 1939-1941, graduating from  Mt. Gollitzin Academy, Baden, PA , in 1943. She entered Maryknoll Sisters at their Center, Maryknoll, NY  from Epiphany Parish, Pittsburgh, PA, on September  7, 1943, and was given her Religious name, Sister Marie Clementia, at her reception on March 7, 1946. Her first Profession of Vows was made at the Maryknoll Sisters Motherhouse, Maryknoll NY on March 7, 1946, and her Final Vows on March 7, 1949, also at Maryknoll, NY.

From 1945-1949, Sister Elizabeth attended Maryknoll Teachers College, Maryknoll, NY, where she earned a Bachelor of Education degree.  She was then assigned to Boston’s Chinatown where she taught English and catechetical classes until 1952. Sister Elizabeth received an assignment to the Sisters’ new mission in Mauritius where she taught in a Chinese school and did catechetical work until 1956. She was then sent to Chicago’s Chinatown, again to teach grade school until 1962.

From 1962-1964, Sister Elizabeth studied at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. where she earned a Master’s degree in Education after which she returned to Chicago as principal of St. Therese Chinese School until 1970. From 1970-1972, she was the Supervisor of  Maryknoll Sisters Vernacular Primary School at Blue Pool Road in Hong Kong, and from 1972-1975 served as supervisor of a government subsidized school in Chai Wan, Hong Kong. She was then sent to Taiwan where she taught English for one year at Fu Jen Catholic University in Taipei and then joined the Western Language Department of Providence College, Taichung.

Returning to Chicago’s Chinatown in 1978, she served as Religious and Pastoral Coordinator until 1982, and then in pastoral ministry among Chinese residents at St. Anne’s Parish, San Francisco, CA, until 1993.

From 1992 – 2002 she lived in Gallup, NM, serving as a part-time advisor and instructor at the Univ. of New Mexico, Gallup, working with the Little Sisters of the Poor and their home for sick and elderly residents (mostly Navajo Indians),  taught catechism at Sacred Heart Church, taught English as a Second Language, ministered to battered women and alcoholics, and worked with American couples with adopted Chinese children.

Following a year at the Maryknoll Sisters residence in Monrovia, CA, Sister Elizabeth returned to the Maryknoll Sisters Center at Maryknoll, NY in 2004.

Sister Elizabeth is survived by two nephews, Donald Nguyen of San Francisco, CA, and Peter Lee of Menlo Park, CA, and a cousin Miss Isabel Lee of San Francisco, CA.

A Vesper service will be held for Sister Elizabeth on Tuesday, February 11, 2014, at 4:15 p.m.,  at Annunciation Chapel, Maryknoll Sisters Center, Ossining, NY, followed by a Memorial Mass at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, February 12, 2014. Interment will follow at Maryknoll Sisters Cemetery on the Center grounds.

Maryknoll, NY Sister Joan Anne Campbell, an educator and headmistress in Tanzania for 35 years, died December 12, 2013, at Maryknoll Sisters Home Care III. She was 86 years old and had been a Maryknoll Sister for 66 years.

Born on May 7, 1927, in Atlantic City, NJ, to James D. and Marie Duffy Campbell, Sister Joan was employed as an assistant bacteriologist at Franklin Sugar Company, Philadelphia, PA, from 1944-45, and an assistant pharmacist at Misericordia Hospital, Philadelphia, from 1945-1947 before entering  Maryknoll from St. Francis de Sales Parish, Philadelphia, on October 30, 1947.

A 1944 graduate of West Catholic Girls High School, Philadelphia,  Sister Joan also attended St. Matthias School, Bala, PA, from 1932-1939, graduating from St. Francis de Sales Schools in 1940.  She went on to receive a B.S. in Pharmacy from Fordham University in 1954, later studying mathematics at Villanova University in 1967 and theology at Maryknoll Seminary from 1974-1975.

Following her first profession of promise on May 8, 1950, at the Maryknoll Sisters residence in Valley Park, MO, Sister Joan was given the religious name Sister Jeanne d’Arc, and was assigned to work at the Motherhouse at Maryknoll, NY, where she served for the next three years, making her final vows on May 8, 1953, at the Motherhouse.

Following graduation from Fordham University in 1954, Sister Joan was assigned to work at Queen of the World Hospital, the first integrated hospital in the United States located in Kansas City, MO. She served there for the next three years.

In 1957,  Sister Joan received her first overseas assignment, teaching and serving as headmistress of Maryknoll Sisters schools throughout Tanzania, including Shinyanga, Morogoro, Makoko-Musoma, Rosana, Isango, and Kurasini, from 1957-1969.

After three years spent in promotion, speaking about the work of Maryknoll Sisters at local parishes and schools in the United States, Sister Joan returned to Tanzania, where she taught religious education at Arusha Seminary from 1972-1976.  She then taught at Fort Wright College, Spokane, WA, in 1976 and 1977, and was assigned to Bolivia later in 1977.

Sister Joan worked in Bolivia until 1981, when she was reassigned to work in Tanzania, joining a Religious Education Team that served the Arusha Diocese.  She, along with another Maryknoll Sister, formed a special renewal program for teachers in the diocese, which included instruction in child psychology, experimental learning, Old and New Testament studies, and church history.

Returning to the Motherhouse in 1992, Sister Joan worked in the congregation’s Mission Projects Funding Office, raising much needed resources for the work of Sisters worldwide until 1995.  She then worked in the Missions Archives office in 1996.

In 1997, Sister Joan returned to Africa, service as director of Maryknoll Sisters’ World Section House in Nairobi, Kenya, until 2000.  In 2001, she returned to the Motherhouse, where she worked in the Direct Mail Special Donors Office and other Congregational Services posts from 2001-2005, and as a volunteer in the congregation’s Rogers Library from 2006-2012.

Sister Joan, who chose to donate her body to science, is survived by a niece, Patricia Giardinelli, of Media, PA, and a sister-in-aw, Patricia Brady Campbell of Drexel Hill, PA.

A Vesper service will be held for Sister Joan on Tuesday, December 17, 2013, at 6:30 p.m., followed by a Memorial Mass on Wednesday, December 18, 2013, both to be held in the Annunciation Chapel at the Maryknoll Sisters Center in Ossining.

Maryknoll, NY Sister Eleanor Keeney died on Nov. 29, 2013, at Phelps Memorial Hospital, Sleepy Hollow, NY after a fall at Maryknoll, NY. She was 90 years old and celebrated 65 years as a Maryknoll Sister on September 4 of this year.

Eleanor Keeney was born on March 16, 1923, in West Hoboken, NJ to Mary (Dimmick) Keeney and John Keeney. Her parents, a sister, Lorraine and stepfather Stanley Richter have predeceased her. Eleanor graduated from St. Brendan’s H.S.in 1941 and Jersey City Med. Center-Nursing School with an R.N in 1945. She entered the Maryknoll Sisters Congregation from St. Agatha’s Parish in Brooklyn, NY on September 4, 1948 at the Venard, PA. At her Reception, she received the religious name Sister Regina Michael.

She made her First Profession of Vows on March 7, 1951, at the Maryknoll Sisters Motherhouse, Ossining, NY, and was assigned to Kandy Government Hospital in Ceylon, (now Sri Lanka), where she served as nurse and Assistant Director of Nurses until 1959. She made her Final Profession of Vows on March 7, 1954. In 1959, Sister Eleanor moved to Kundasale, Ceylon, to the Maternity Hospital and parish work. In 1962, the government expelled all foreigners and she returned to the Maryknoll Sisters Center where she served in the Infirmary until 1967 when she was assigned to Northeast Thailand where she operated a mobile medical clinic until 1969. It was then that she was called back to be the Director of Nurses and Health Coordinator at Bethany House, which was the Maryknoll Sisters nursing facility in Ossining, NY, at that time.

From 1970 to 1972 Sister Eleanor studied at Maryknoll Rogers College and then from 1972–1974 at the University of Connecticut where she obtained a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. From 1974 -1980 she was a Public Health Nurse with the Visiting Nurse Service of Westchester County, NY, and in 1981 she was assigned to work as Coordinator of Health Services in Monrovia, CA. for two years.

In 1983, Sister Eleanor was assigned to Zimbabwe as Director of Nurses and Administrator at St. Albert’s Mission Hospital. In 1987, she moved to Gweru, Zimbabwe, to care for the terminally ill in Pastoral Home Nursing and Hospice work and as a volunteer for Red Cross nurses.

From 1997 to 2007, Sister Eleanor volunteered her services in Hendersonville, NC, at the Pardee Health Care Center and served on the Council for the Aging while also visiting the needy and aged. In 2009, Sister Eleanor returned to Maryknoll, NY.

A Vespers Service was held on Monday, December 9, 2013, at 4:15 P.M. The Mass of Christian Burial followed on Tuesday, December 10, 2013, at 11:00 A.M., both in the Chapel of the Annunciation in the Maryknoll Sisters Center

Burial will be in the Maryknoll Sisters’ Cemetery. Dorsey Funeral Home is handling the arrangements.

Maryknoll, NY Sister Mary Elizabeth Driscoll died peacefully on October 2, 2013, at Phelps Memorial Hospital, Sleepy Hollow, NY. She was 90 years old and celebrated 70 years as a Maryknoll Sister on September 7 of this year.

Mary Driscoll was born on July 26, 1923, in Portland OR, to Elcena Greene Driscoll and William E. Driscoll. Her parents, a brother (William) and two sisters (Anne and Susan) have predeceased her. She is survived by one sister, Mrs. William Neely (Carolyn) of Boise, ID.

Mary attended St. Mary’s Academy, Portland, OR, graduating in 1941, and Maryhurst College in Oregon during 1942.She entered Maryknoll on Sept 7, 1943, from All Saints Parish, Portland, OR. At her Reception, she received the religious name of Sister M. Edmund Damien.

She made her First Profession of Vows on March 7, 1946, at the Maryknoll Sisters Motherhouse, Ossining, NY, and her Final Vows on March 7, 1949, in Hawaii.  She graduated from Maryknoll Teachers College, NY, with a Bachelor of Education degree in 1955. In 1964 she received an M.A.  in Theology at Providence College, RI. From 1969– 1979 she attended the Univ. of Pacific Coast, CA, during which time she became certified to teach EMR students and Learning Disabled children. She received the Outstanding Teacher Award for “exemplary teaching and dedication to school and community.”

In 1946, Sister Mary was assigned to Hawaii where she taught in grade schools in Maui-Wailuku and Punahou. In 1955 she went to Chinatown, NYC, where she served as Assistant Principal and teacher until 1958 when she was assigned to the Maryknoll Sisters Novitiate at Maryknoll, NY, as an Assistant Novice Mistress. In 1964 she was re-assigned as Novice Mistress to the Maryknoll Sisters Novitiate in Topsfield, MA, until 1968. From Topsfield, she moved to the U.S. Western Region where she served on their Regional Governing Board and as Region Coordinator and taught upper elementary Learning Disabled Children in public schools until 1981. In 1982, Sister Mary was assigned to the U.S. Eastern Region in Bardstown, KY where she did social work in the Sisters Visitor Program of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, working with poor families and the elderly for eight years. From 1989 – 1997 she taught students with low esteem and school “dropouts” at the Creative Ed. Center. After that she volunteered in Bardstown Parish as a Pastoral visitor. In 2010, she moved to the Maryknoll Sisters Center in Ossining, NY and went for 10 months as a volunteer tutor in the nearby Brookside Elementary School.

From 2010 to 2013 she retired to the Sisters’ residence in Monrovia, CA before returning to the Maryknoll Sisters Center at Maryknoll, NY, on August 1, 2013. Sister Mary was admitted to Phelps Memorial Hospital on Sept. 30 for emergency surgery, where she died at 7:30 P.M. on October 2, 2013.

A Vespers Service will be held on Monday, Oct. 7, 2013, at 6:30 P.M.in the main chapel of the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Ossining, NY. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Tuesday Oct. 8, at 11:00 A.M., also in the main chapel.

Burial will be in the Maryknoll Sisters’ Cemetery. Dorsey Funeral Home is handling the arrangements.

Maryknoll, NY — Sister Bernardine Remedios, MM, a missioner in Hong Kong and Taiwan for 40 years, died October 17, 2014, at Methodist Hospital, Arcadia, CA. She was 84 years old and had been a Maryknoll Sister for 58 years.

Born on July 25, 1930, in Kowloon, Hong Kong, to Fernando and Carmen Osmund Remedios, she was one of seven children born to the couple.

A 1948 graduate of Maryknoll Convent School , Hong Kong, Sister Bernardine, known during religious life as Carmen Fernanda Remedios, also attended Mary Rogers College, Maryknoll, NY, where she received a B.S. in education in 1972.

She entered Maryknoll at their motherhouse on September 2, 1956, from St. Theresa’s Parish, Kowloon, Hong Kong, made her first vows at the motherhouse on June 24, 1959, and her final vows in Hong Kong on June 24, 1965.

Sister Bernardine’s first assignment was teaching catechetics in Houlung, Taiwan, from 1960-1969.  Then, after completing her studies at MRC, she worked in the Treasury Department at the motherhouse from 1973-1974, and served as director of the kindergarten program at Transfiguration Parish School, Chinatown, NY, from 1974-1975.

Sister Bernardine then returned to Hong Kong, where she served as Finance Director for the congregation’s regional office in Hong Kong from 1976-1981.  She then returned to Taiwan, where she served as bookkeeper from 1981-1987, while also engaged in pastoral and youth work.

She  returned to the motherhouse where she again worked in the Treasury Department from 1987-2000, becoming the director of that department in 1993.

In 2001, Sister Bernardine retired to the Sisters’ residence in Monrovia, CA, where she had been actively involved in assorted volunteer activities, as well as serving as the Finance Officer of the residence from 2010 until her death.

Sister Bernadine is survived by a sister, Mrs. Therese Wiegers of N. Battleford, Saskatchewan, Canada, and five brothers: Dr. Alphonso Remedios of Decatur, IL; Carlos Remedios of Roseville Chase, New South Wales, Australia; Eduardo Remedios of Wyong, New South Wales, Australia; Fernando Remedios of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; and Philip Remedios of Kowloon, Hong Kong.

A Vesper service will be held for Sister Bernardine on  Tuesday, October 28, 2014 at 3 p.m. at the Maryknoll Sisters residence, Monrovia, CA, followed by a Mass of Resurrection on Wednesday, October 29, 2014, at 11 a.m. in the same location.  A memorial Mass will also be  offered at for Sister Bernardine at the Maryknoll Sisters Center,  Ossining, NY, at a later date.  Burial will be in the Maryknoll Sisters Cemetery at Maryknoll, NY.

Sister Rose Marie Franklin died after a long illness, November 23, 2014, at Maryknoll Sisters Residential Care III. She was 88 years old and celebrated 70 years as a  Maryknoll Sister in September of this year.

Born on July 1, 1926 in Oak Park, IL. to  Rose (Mann) Franklin and  William B. Franklin, Sister Rose Marie  had a twin brother, William B. Franklin, who predeceased her. She attended Trinity High School in River Forest, IL from 1940 – 1944.

Sister Rose Marie entered the Congregation of Maryknoll Sisters of St. Dominic at Maryknoll, NY, on September  7, 1944, from St. Lucy’s Parish, now known as St. Catherine’s Parish, Chicago, IL.  At her reception on March 7, 1945 she was given the Religious name of Sister Rose Mariel. Her first Profession of Vows was made at the Maryknoll Sisters Motherhouse, Maryknoll, NY, on March 7, 1947, and her Final Vows on March 7, 1950, also at Maryknoll, NY.

From 1947 to 1953 Sister Rose Marie did secretarial work at the Maryknoll Fathers Seminary in  New York. From there she was assigned to Pusan, Korea, where she studied the Korean language for two years, did secretarial work, was in charge of maintenance, catechetical work and the language program until 1964.

Her next assignment was to Kang Hwa, Korea, where she did clinical and parish work and helped initiate the Young Christian Workers (YCW) organization for factory women in 1964. She was then sent to Inchon in 1967, where she was an original member of the Diocesan and National Catechetical Committee and assisted in the founding of the Korean Sisters Major Superiors Association while actively involved in the YCW at the same time.

Sister Rose Marie took an eight-month course in catechetical studies at the East Asia Pastoral Institute (EAPI) in the Philippines in 1966 and received her Certificate for it in 1967. She served at the Inchon mission until 1971.

Sister Rose Marie then studied at the University of Guam in Agana, Guam, from January 1972 to December 1973, earning a B.A. in sociology on May 18, 1974. She then proceeded to take her Masters in Sociology at Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI in April 1974 and graduated in August 1975. From May 1975 – August 1978, she studied for her  Ph.D in Sociology, also at Western Michigan, receiving her doctorate on December 16, 1978.

From there Sister Rose Marie served at the Sisters’ Center in the Research and Planning Dept. from September 1978 to June 1982. On October 1, 1982,  she joined the Sisters’ Eastern U.S. Region and worked with the Global Education Associates as Coordinator of Development and World Order and Coordinator of World Associates until 1983. She was then  assigned to Louis Harris and Associates, New York, NY, where she worked as an interviewer from 1983 – 1984.  She was then involved in research and peace education at the Intercommunity Center for Justice and Peace, New York, NY, from 1984-1990.

In 1990, Sister Rose Marie served as delegate of the Eastern U.S. Region to the Sisters’ 13^th General Assembly, was elected to the Congregation’s Central Governing Board (CGB) and was General Secretary from 1990 to 1996.

In 1997 she returned to Korea, where she did pastoral work and taught English in Seoul from 1997- 2002.

Sister Rose Marie returned to the Maryknoll Sisters Center and did part time work in the Personnel Dept. from 2002 – 2006. In 2007 she retired and has resided at the Maryknoll Sisters Home Care facility at Maryknoll, New York until her death. Sister Rose Marie has willed her body to science.

A vespers service was held on December 4, 2014, in the Main Chapel at the Maryknoll Sisters Chapel in Ossining, NY.  A Memorial Mass was offered on  December 5, 2014, in the same location.

Sister Elinor Loretta Doherty, MM, a missioner for 67 years, who served primarily in Guatemala, died November 24, 2014, at Maryknoll Sisters Home Care IV. She was 89 years old.

Born on October 12, 1925 in Pontiac, MI, to Albert and Elinor McGowan Doherty, Sister Elinor was one of seven children born to the couple, two sons, and five daughters.  She attended St. Frederick’s High School, Pontiac, from 1938-1943.

Sister Elinor entered the Congregation of Maryknoll Sisters of St. Dominic at Valley Park, MO, on October 30, 1947, from Our Lady of Refuge Parish, Orchard Lake, MI.  At her reception, she was given the Religious name of Sister Rose Andrew. Her first Profession of Vows was made at Valley Park on May 8, 1950, and her Final Vows on May 8, 1953, also at Valley Park.

A graduate of Marygrove College, Detroit, MI, where she received a B.S. in chemistry in 1947, Sister Elinor’s first assignment was as Assistant to the Postulate Mistress at the Maryknoll Motherhouse, Maryknoll, NY, from 1950-1952.  She then served in the same position at the congregation’s novitiate in Valley Park in 1952 and at their Native novitiate in Yucatan, Mexico from 1953-1958.

Sister Elinor then taught math and science to secondary students in Guatemala City, from 1958-1969, also serving as First Counselor for the congregation’s regional office in the city from 1964-1969.  She later served as a member of the Regional Governing Board for the congregation from 1977-1979.

From 1969-1971, Sister Elinor supervised the junior high school section of Monte Maria School, Guatemala City, while also teaching religion and math classes at the school. She them served as Vice Principal of the junior high school in 1972, as coordinator of the high school from 1973-1987 and 1990-2002.

Sister Elinor then returned to the Motherhouse, now known as Maryknoll Sisters Center, where she served as a volunteer in social services, residents’ clothing and health care from 2002-2006.  She officially retired in 2007.

Sister Elinor is survived by her brother, Edmond Doherty of Overland Park, KS; and two sisters, Mrs. Jane Stack of West Bloomfield, MI, and Mrs. Esther McInnes of Waterford, MI.

A vespers service was held for Sister Elinor on November 30, 2014, in the Main Chapel at the Maryknoll Sisters Chapel in Ossining, NY.  A Mass of Christian Burial was offered on December 1, 2014, in the same location. Interment was in the Maryknoll Sisters Cemetery, Maryknoll, NY.

Sister Mary Camilla Kennedy, MM, missioner-educator to Hawaii and the Marshall Islands, died on December 14, 2014 at the Maryknoll Sisters Home Care, Maryknoll, NY.  She was 88 years old and celebrated 70 years as a Maryknoll Sister this year.

Born in Syracuse, NY, on June 20, 1926, to Matthew P. Kennedy and Irene Deschamps Kennedy, Sister Camilla was one of seven children, four boys and three girls, born to the couple.

Following graduation from St. Patrick’s High School in 1944, Sister Camilla entered the Maryknoll congregation at its motherhouse in Maryknoll, NY, on September 6, 1944, from St. Patrick’s Parish, Syracuse, and made her final vows on March 7, 1950, also at the motherhouse.  A 1980 graduate of St. Louis University, St. Louis, MO, where she earned her doctorate in philosophy, Sister Camilla also holds an M.A. in theology from Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI, and a bachelor’s degree in education from Mary Rogers College, Maryknoll, NY.

Sister Camilla was sent to the Marshall Islands in 1950, where she taught Grades 3-8 in Likiep until 1955.  She was then sent to Hawaii, where she taught third grade at Maryknoll Elementary School until 1958. She then returned to the Marshall Islands, teaching seventh and eighth grade in Majuro until 1964.

Sister Camilla was named assistant novice mistress of the congregation’s novitiate in Valley Park, MO. in 1964 and then Director of the Orientation Program until 1976 also in St. Louis. Returning to the Center at Maryknoll in 1977, Sister Camilla was appointed the Center Coordinator and then elected a member of the Center Council until 1982. Sister Camilla also served as the Maryknoll Center’s Due Process Moderator from 1985 to 1993.

Following completion of her doctorate dissertation in 1982, a book published entitled To the Uttermost Parts of the Earth, Sister Camilla served simultaneously as On-going Education Director and Renewal Coordinator for the congregation. She was appointed    Coordinator of Mission Research in 1994, a position she held until 1999.  She then worked as the congregation’s consultant for Canon Law from 1999-2004, officially retiring in 2006.

Sister Camilla is survived by two brothers, Rev. Laurence Kennedy and Rev. James B. Kennedy, and a sister, Mrs. Ralph (Helen) Lorenzini, all of Syracuse, NY.

A vespers service will be held for Sister Camilla on Wednesday, December 17, 2014, at 4:15 p.m. in the Chapel of the Annunciation at the Maryknoll Sisters Center at Maryknoll, NY.  The Liturgy of Christian Burial will take place on Thursday, December 18, 2014, at 11 a.m. in the same location. Interment will be in the Maryknoll Sisters Cemetery at the Center.

Sister Paula Marie Kuntz, MM, a medical missioner in Kenya and Tanzania, died January 3, 2015, at the Maryknoll Sisters Home Care, Maryknoll, NY.  She was 81 years old and had been a Maryknoll Sister for 63 years.

Born on June 7, 1933 to Edward William and Margaret Ellen Ward Kuntz  in London, ON, Sister Paula entered Maryknoll at their Motherhouse in Maryknoll, NY from the Parish of St. Michael, London, on September 6, 1951. She holds a double citizenship, Canadian and U.S., and became a naturalized US citizen on January 6, 1999.

Sister Paula made her First Profession of Vows on March 7, 1954, at the Motherhouse.  She received her religious name, “Sister Paula Marie” at reception and retained it all her life, but is better known simply as “Paula”.  After profession she was assigned to work in the Maryknoll Seminary kitchen, where she served from 1954-1959.

From 1955-1959, Sister Paula went on to study nursing from 1955 – 1959 at College of St. Teresa in Winona, MN and at St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester, MN where she  received  her  B.S.N.  She then worked as a nurse at Bethany House, Ossining, NY, in 1959 and at Monrovia, CA from 1960 – 1965, making her Final Profession on March 7, 1960, at the Motherhouse, Maryknoll, NY.

Her first foreign assignment was to Makoko, Tanzania in 1965, where she studied Kiswahili and Tanzanian culture for a year, before being sent to Kowak, where until April 1969, she served to relieve Sisters due to come home for renewal from several missions, located in Rosana and Mipa, In May 1969, she was assigned to Kinango, Kenya, the first Maryknoll Sister to serve in that country. There, she worked in a new hospital project funded by the Kenyan Government and Misereor, the German Catholic Bishops’ Organization for Development Cooperation.  When the hospital was delayed in opening, the Kenyan government’ s Provincial Matron asked Sister Paula to help out at Malindi District Hospital.  One year later the Provincial Matron asked Sister Paula to work at Coast General Hospital in Mombasa. Sister Paula  was the Sister-in-Charge until 1972.

Meeting Sister Paula on her way home for renewal, the Bishop of Eldoret Diocese asked her to open a new mission clinic in Mois Bridge, when she returned to Kitale. There she served on the nursing staff, and as Co-Director from October 1972 – 1985. Sister Paula engaged in clinic and public health programs in the Diocese of Eldoret from 1973 – 1985. This very busy health service was handed over to the Assumption Sisters of Eldoret in 1986.

Following a year of study at Gonzaga University, Spokane, WA from September 1985-July 1986,  Sister Paula returned to Kitale, where she worked in pastoral and medical ministry in the Eldoret Diocese until 2008.  During that time, she served in local medical clinics from 1986-1998, founded a new pastoral/medical ministry in Kitale in 1999, provided pastoral ministry to women and the handicapped from 1999-2005, and did pastoral/medical work from 2006-2008. She also taught adult literacy classes for women two days a week, started an  income-generating project with the  poor and elderly, began a weekly feeding program, and set up a banking  project that enabled the poor to deposit any amount of money,  even one shilling, to a personal account. That project continues to assist the same people today, and has been operated by the Little Sisters of St. Frances since 1995. Sister Paula also served as Regional Governing Board contact person in Kenya from 1987-1989 and as Regional Treasurer for Maryknoll Sisters in Kenya from 1998-2002.

Sister Paula returned to Maryknoll, NY, in 2009, where she worked as Working Supervisor of Incoming Mail from 2009-2014.

Sister Paula is survived by five sisters,  Mrs. Barbara Schmuck of Waterloo, ON, Mrs. Margaret Downing of London, ON, Mrs. Patricia O’Grady of Kitchener, ON, Sister Dolores Kuntz of London, ON, and Sister Mary Lillian, CSJ, also of London, ON; and one brother, Edward Kuntz of London, ON

A vespers service will be held for Sister Paula, who donated her body to science, on Wednesday, January 7, 2015, at 4:15 p.m. in the Chapel of the Annunciation at the Maryknoll Sisters Center at Maryknoll, NY.  Her Memorial Mass will take place on Thursday, January 8, 2015, at 11 a.m. in the same location. Interment will be in the Maryknoll Sisters Cemetery at the Center.