Maryknoll Sisters

Maryknoll, NY: Sister Laura Magallanes died on Thursday, April 13, 2023 at the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Maryknoll, NY. She was 95 years old and a Maryknoll Sister for 75 years.

On July 22, 1927, Laura Magallanes was born in Los Angeles, CA, to Teresa (Guerra) Magallanes and Jose Magallanes.  She had six brothers, Frank, Gabriel, Joseph, Michael, Nick and Ralph and six sisters, Angela, Marie, Katherine, Sr. Adela, Rosemary and Teresa. All have predeceased her.  Her nieces and nephews survive her.

Laura attended Sacred Heart Academy High School in Los Angeles, CA from 1943 to 1946.

She entered the Maryknoll Sisters at Valley Park, MO on October 14, 1948 from St. Mary’s Parish in Los Angeles, CA.    She pronounced her First Profession of Vows on May 8, 1951 in Valley Park, MO.

In 1951, she received her first mission assignment to Chile and was assigned to Galvarino where she taught 2^nd and 3^rd grade until the end of the school year. Sister Laura and Sister Henrietta Coppard, M.M. went to Chillan in 1952.  They started a mission working with the poor and a parish school for the children of families living in extreme urban poverty. Sr. Laura was the assistant principal and also taught primary school.  She made her Final Vows on May 8, 1954 in Chile.

Sr. Laura moved around Chile in the years 1958 to 1970. Sister taught 3^rd and 4^th grade at the San Juan de Dios Parish School in Santiago in 1958; she taught 1^st and 2^nd grade in the Parish School in Curepto in 1959-1960; she was Administrator of the Language Study House in Pucon and taught religion and English in Manuel Guinez Boy’s Campo School in 1961-1964; she was assistant principal and primary school  teacher in Talca in 1965-1967; she was principal of Santo Tomas Boys School in Temuco in 1968 and in 1969, she was a primary school teacher in Talcahuano until 1970.  In all the years of teaching in schools, she loved visiting the homes of her students to understand them better, some of them living in city dumps.

She went back to the USA in 1970-71 for studies. She received her Bachelor of Science in Education from Mary Rogers College at Maryknoll, NY in 1971.

Sister Laura returned to Chile in 1972. She lived and worked among those living in extreme poverty. She did mostly pastoral work, also organized soup kitchen, trained catechists, visited homes, hospitals and prisons. She was in Talcahuano in 1972, in Talca in 1973-1989 and in Melipilla in 1990-1994. Sister Laura was in Chile for 43 years and loved it.

Sister Laura transferred to the Western US Region in 1994 and lived in San Diego, CA until 2009.  She ministered to the elderly in hospitals, visited elderly who were shut-ins, volunteered at nearby senior citizen centers, helped minorities and was a neighbor to the neighbors.  Once a month she participated in sharing life and faith experiences in a support group for women.

In 2009, Sister returned to the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Maryknoll, NY where she remained until her death on April 13, 2023.

Funeral Services:

A Vespers Service will be held for Sister Laura on Thursday, April 20, 2023 at 4:15 p.m. in the Chapel of the Annunciation at the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Maryknoll, NY.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Friday, April 21, 2023 at 10:00 A.M. at the Maryknoll Sisters Center.

Maryknoll, NY: Sister Ruth Elizabeth Greble, M.M. died on Sunday, April 9, 2023 at the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Maryknoll, NY. She was 101 years old and a Maryknoll Sister for 74 years.

On November 16, 1921, Ruth Elizabeth Greble was born in Philadelphia, PA to Emma (Klotz) Greble and Robert Greble.  She had one sister who pre-deceased her.  Her nieces and nephews survive her.

Ruth attended John W. Hallahan Catholic Girls High School in Philadelphia, PA from 1936-1939.   She attended Pierce Business School in Philadelphia in 1940.

Ruth entered the Maryknoll Sisters on September 6, 1949 at Maryknoll Sisters Center, Maryknoll, NY.  She pronounced her First Profession of Vows on March 7, 1952, from Maryknoll, NY, and her Final Vows on March 8, 1955, also in Maryknoll, NY.  Sister Ruth received her first mission assignment as the secretary to the Superior General of the Maryknoll Priests and Brothers in 1952-1956.

From 1956-1960 she studied at Rogers College in Maryknoll, NY obtaining a Bachelor of Education in 1960.  She received a Master’s degree in Geography from Boston University in 1961. She continued her studies and did her doctoral dissertation research in Tanzania from 1962-1964. She received her Ph.D. in Geography from Boston University in 1971.

Concurrent with her studies, Sr. Ruth was assigned to administrative and teaching positions at Maryknoll’s Rogers College. In 1967, she was Vice-President of Rogers College and then became President in 1968 until its closure in 1973. She was also active in Maryknoll Sisters community life, serving as a Delegate at the 1968 Chapter, a member of the Center Board from 1971-1973, and Chair of the Center Board from 1973-1975.

In 1975, Sister Ruth was assigned to Sudan. She helped establish a national center for pastoral, liturgical, and catechetical training. It became PALICA National Center where Sister Ruth worked until 1989. From 1989-1992, she taught at and was a staff member of Munuki Major Seminary in Juba. From 1993-1996, she was on the administration staff of the Maryknoll Sisters World Section House in Nairobi, Kenya. Sr. Ruth returned to Sudan in 1997-1998 where she taught in the local primary school and aided in revitalizing a women’s center in Chukudum.  In 1999, she moved to Nairobi, Kenya where she worked part-time at the Diocesan office until 2004.  During her time in Sudan and Kenya, Sr. Ruth did the finances for the Maryknoll Sisters’ Sudan Region, helped the Tanzania Region, and kept the financial accounts of the Africa World Section House until 2006.

In 2007, Sister Ruth left Africa and was assigned to the Western U.S. Region. She lived in Walnut Creek, CA, where she volunteered her services by visiting women in prison, a Catholic Charities Program, as well as in a new project for returning veterans.  She was also invited to give talks about Africa at the local Christ the King Parish until 2014.

In 2015, Sister returned to the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Maryknoll, NY to retire.

Funeral Services:

A Vespers Service will be held for Sister Ruth on Tuesday, April 18, 2023 at 4:15 p.m. in the Chapel of the Annunciation at the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Maryknoll, NY.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Wednesday, April 19, 2023 at 10:00 A.M. at the Maryknoll Sisters Center.

Maryknoll, NY: Sister Marie May died on April 6, 2023 at the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Maryknoll, NY. She was 94 years old and a Maryknoll Sister for 73 years.

On November 26, 1928, Marie Anne May was born in Brooklyn, NY to Rose M. (Glossa) May and Joseph F. May.   She had three brothers and one sister; all have pre-deceased her.

From 1942 to 1946, Sister Marie attended St. Angela Hall High School in Brooklyn, NY.  She then attended St. Joseph’s College for Women, graduating in 1950 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemistry.

Sister Marie entered the Maryknoll Sisters Congregation in NY on September 6, 1950, from St. Patrick’s parish in Ft. Hamilton, Brooklyn, NY.  She made her First Profession of Vows on March 7, 1953, at the Maryknoll Sisters Center in NY. In 1953, Marie received her first mission assignment to the Central Pacific Region, where she studied and did social work.

In 1954, she earned 29 credits in Sociology-Social Work at the University of Hawaii. She taught high school biology and religion in Maui from 1955 until 1959. She made her Final Vows on March 7, 1959, in Honolulu, Hawaii.

In 1960, Marie studied and earned a master’s degree in Biology at Immaculate Heart College, Los Angeles, CA.  She taught grades 10 and 12 from 1960 to 1968 in Maui, Hawaii.

In 1970 she graduated from Washington University, St. Louis, MO, with a Master’s Degree in Social Work.  Sister Marie did family counseling in the rural areas of Oahu in 1970.  She also served on the Maryknoll Sisters Regional Governing Board in Honolulu from 1971 to 1974, after which she was assigned to Yap in Micronesia where she remained until 2011. While in Yap Sr. Marie did social, pastoral, prison, as well as youth ministries. She was also in charge of the young adult training program.

In 2012, Sister Marie semi-retired to the Maryknoll Sisters Community in Monrovia, CA where she did volunteer work.  In 2015 she returned and retired at the Maryknoll Sisters Center in New York, remaining until her death on 6 April 2023.

Funeral Services:

A Vespers Service will be held for Sister Marie May on Thursday, April 13, 2023 at 4:15 p.m. in the Chapel of the Annunciation at the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Maryknoll, NY.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Friday, April 14, 2023 at 10:00 A.M. at the Maryknoll Sisters Center.

Maryknoll, NY: Sister Thecla Mutsuye Tsuruda died on April 5, 2023 at the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Maryknoll, NY. She was 98 years old and a Maryknoll Sister for 75 years.

On May 14, 1924, Mutsuye Tsuruda was born in Sacramento, CA to Sumo Shimazu Tsuruda and Ichigoro Tsurudo.  She had three brothers, Tom, Ben and Ray; her brother Tom survives her.  Ben and Ray have all pre-deceased her.

From 1939 to 1942, Sister Thecla attended Sacramento Senior High School in Sacramento, CA.   She attended the Metropolitan Business School, Los Angeles, CA for one and half years.  Then she attended and graduated from the Merchants & Bankers School of Business in New York City in 1963.  She entered Maryknoll on October 14, 1948 from her home parish of St. Francis Xavier, Los Angeles, CA. Thecla pronounced herS First Profession of Vows on May 8, 1951 in Valley Park, MO and her Final Vows on May 8, 1954 in Japan.

In 1953, she received her first mission assignment to Kyoto, Japan, where she studied the language for one year.  Subsequently in Saiin, Takano and Kyoto Sr. Thecla did pastoral work from 1954 to 1970.  In 1971, in Kyoto, she taught English to children and adults until 1974. In June of 1974, she moved to the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Maryknoll, NY for Congregational Services in the Admissions/Orientation Department.

In 1975, Sister was assigned to the Central Pacific Region, Honolulu, HI, and for 10 years worked as a Catholic Social Service Outreach Worker for an Elderly Program.

Sr. Thecla moved from Hawaii to Monrovia, CA in 1985 for more Congregational Services.  There she assisted the elderly Sisters, driving them for appointments and shopping trips.  She stayed in Monrovia for three years.  Returning to Honolulu, HI in 1991 as a full time worker as Service Aide, Catholic Charities Services to Elderly until 1996.

In 1996, Sister retired to Monrovia, CA but continued to work as a volunteer driver, driving Sisters around.

Sister Thecla returned to the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Maryknoll, NY in 2013.  Where she remained until her death.

Funeral Services:

A Vespers Service will be held for Sister Thecla Tsuruda on Monday, April 10, 2023 at 4:15 p.m. in the Chapel of the Annunciation at the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Maryknoll, NY.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Tuesday, April 11, 2023 at 10:00 A.M. at the Maryknoll Sisters Center.