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.