Obituaries

Sister Marie de Lourdes Nassauer, Maryknoll Sister for 69 Years

Posted on October 24, 2016

Sister Marie de Lourdes Nassauer, Maryknoll Sister for 69 Years

Maryknoll, NY: Sister Marie de Lourdes Nassauer died on October 17, 2016 at the Maryknoll Sisters Center, in Maryknoll, NY. She was 86 years old and had been a Maryknoll Sister for 69 years.

Sister Marie was born on January 19, 1930 in Brooklyn, NY to parents Eva and Stuart Nassauer. She was baptized as Marie de Lourdes. She had two brothers, and one sister. Her parents, her sister Joan and her brother Fred have all predeceased her; but, her brother Stuart Nassauer of East Hampton, NY survives her.

In 1947, she graduated from Seton Hall High School, Patchogue, NY. She then joined the Maryknoll Sisters Congregation, on September 6, 1947 from St. Lawrence Parish in Rockville Centre Diocese, NY. At her Reception, she was given the religious name, Sister Mary Frederick. She made her First Profession of Vows on March 7, 1950 at the Maryknoll Sisters Center in Maryknoll, NY and her Final Vows on March 7, 1953, also at the Maryknoll Sisters Center.

From 1949-1953, while staying at the Maryknoll Sisters Center she earned a Bachelor of Education Degree from Maryknoll Teachers College.

In 1953, after her Final Vows, Sister Marie was assigned to teach in St. Ann’s Primary School in Louis, MO. In 1956, she was assigned to Maryknoll Primary School in Los Angeles, CA. A couple of years later, in 1958, she received her first overseas assignment to Chile, South America where she worked among the needy with primary school children in parish schools. In 1973, she returned to the Maryknoll Sisters Center to serve in the Personnel Department for two years.

After earning her Licensed Practical Nursing Degree (LPN) in 1976, Sister Marie returned to Talca, Chile to use her newly acquired nursing skills to minister to the sick. In 1979, the Maryknoll Sisters Chile Region opened a new mission in Salamanca, Chile; where she engaged in pastoral work until 1991.

Sister Marie also served as a Regional Council Member on the Maryknoll Sisters Chile Regional Governing Board from 1987 -1989. She also served as Administrator of the Chile Region’s Center House in Santiago from 1991 to 1995. In 1996, she returned to the Maryknoll Sisters Center where she volunteered as assistant sacristan until 2006 and in the center library until 2014.

In 2015, due to failing health, Sister Marie retired to the Maryknoll Sisters Home Care Unit in the Maryknoll Sisters Center.

Sister Marie died on October 17, 2016 and generously donated her body to science.

A Wake and Vespers Service will be held in the Main Chapel at the Maryknoll Sisters Center in Maryknoll, NY on November 3, 2016 at 4:15 P.M

A Memorial Mass will be celebrated on November 4, 2016 at 11:00 A.M. also in the Main Chapel at the Maryknoll Sisters Center in Maryknoll, NY.

Sister Roseanne Ong, Maryknoll Sister for 53 Years

Posted on October 3, 2016

Sister Roseanne Ong, Maryknoll Sister for 53 Years
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Maryknoll, NY: Maryknoll Sister, Roseanne Ong, died on September 25, 2016, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. She was 76 years old and had been a Maryknoll Sister for 53 years.

Maxima Corazon Ong was born on May 16, 1940 in Manila, Philippines to Uy Bun Ti (mother) and Kim Siong Ong (father). She had three brothers, and five Sisters.

Maxima graduated from Maryknoll, High School Manila, Philippines in 1957. In 1961, she graduated from the University of East, Manila receiving a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration. She entered the Maryknoll Sisters Novitiate in Quezon City, Manila from St. John the Baptist Parish, Manila on June 1, 1963. She received the religious name, Sister Rosanne, at her reception, a name she retained throughout her life.

Sister Roseanne made her First Profession of Vows on March 19, 1966 in Quezon City and her Final Vows on the same date in1970 in Jimenez, Misamis Occidental. Following her religious profession, Sister Rosanne was assigned to a variety of mission ministries in her home country, the Phillipines. She served as Secretary to the high school principal of Maryknoll College, then as Regional Procurator for the Maryknoll Sisters in the Philippine Region, and in 1969 was appointed Principal of the high school department at the College of St. John the Baptist in Jimenez.

In May of 1971, Sister Rosanne came to the Maryknoll Sisters Center in New York for a renewal program and in September, she left for her new mission assignment to Tanzania in East Africa.

After language study, she served on the faculty at the Nyegezi Social Training Center and in the Business Studies Department. In 1979, she returned to the Maryknoll Sisters Center for Congregational Service, where her training and expertise in business administration were invaluable to the community. While serving in Congregational Services, she secured her American citizenship. In February, 1998 Sister Rosanne returned to Tanzania and taught bookkeeping and mathematics at the Murigha Girls Secondary School in Singida. In March 2001, she became an Assistant Manager/Academic Officer and Matron of the GOIG (Getting Old is to Grow) Vocational Handicraft Centre in Dar es Salaam.

The Mass of Christian Burial, attended by the Maryknoll Sisters of the Region and many friends was celebrated on Wednesday, September 28, 2016 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Sister Agnes Mary McLean, Maryknoll Missioner to Japan

Posted on September 8, 2016

Sister Agnes Mary McLean, Maryknoll Missioner to Japan
Maryknoll, NY: Sister Agnes Mary McLean, missioner to Japan died on September 6, 2016 in the Maryknoll Sisters’ Center, at Maryknoll, NY. She was 91 years old and would have been a Maryknoll Sister for 70 years on October 5, 2016.

She was born in Lowell, Massachusetts on February 25, 1925 to Agnes Veronica (McHugh) McLean and Arthur William McLean. She received the name Mildred at baptism. She had three brothers, John, George and Edward; the latter two were priests and one sister, Agnes. Her parents and two brothers John and George have predeceased her. Her brother Edward passed away on September 6, 2016 only a few hours after Sr. Agnes Mary. Mildred graduated from the Academy of Notre Dame, Tyngsboro, MA in 1942. During the summers of 1940 –1941 she attended Bradshaw Business College in Lowell, MA. After high school she attended Salem State Teachers College from 1942 –1946 when she obtained a Bachelors or Science in Education.

Mildred entered the Maryknoll Sisters Congregation from St. Margaret’s Parish, Lowell, MA in the Archdiocese of Boston on October 5, 1946 at the Maryknoll Sisters Center in Ossining, NY. At her Reception, she received the religious name Sister Agnes Mary, which she retained throughout her religious life. She made her First Profession of Vows on April 6, 1949 in Ossining, NY and was assigned to Kyoto, Japan where she did her language study. She made her Final Profession of Vows on April 6, 1952 in Kyoto.

After three months of language study, Sr. Agnes Mary’s ministries included catechetical work in Tsu, Japan for a year. In 1951 she worked as a secretary in Kyoto before going back to catechetical work in Otsu and Ise Shi parishes until 1958 when she returned to the United States until 1963. During that time she studied Canon Law at Fontbonne, in St. Louis, MO and was Postulant Mistress for one year at the Sisters’ Valley Park Novitiate in Missouri. She returned to Japan in 1963 to the Maryknoll Girls School in Yokkaichi where she taught high school English and Typing. She also taught private English lessons to business men, and classes to teachers in government schools and in Tsu at Mie (National) University during the years 1963 to 1997. The following years in Japan were dedicated to visiting the sick and elderly until her return to the U.S when she was assigned to the Eden Community at the Maryknoll Sisters Center in Ossining, NY on April 1, 2008.

Sister Agnes Mary died at the Maryknoll Sisters Center on September 6, 2016.

A Vespers service will be held for Sister Agnes Mary on September 8th at 4:15 p.m. in the Main Chapel at the Maryknoll Sisters Center. A funeral Mass will follow on September 9th at 11:00 a.m. also in the Main Chapel at the Center. Interment will follow in the Maryknoll Sisters Cemetery on the Center grounds.

Sister Katherine Mary Mallon, Maryknoll Sister for 67 Years

Posted on September 8, 2016

Sister Katherine Mary Mallon, Maryknoll Sister for 67 Years
Maryknoll, NY: Sister Katherine Mallon M.M. died peacefully after a long illness on August 24, 2016 at the Maryknoll Sisters Center in Ossining, NY. She was 88 years old and a Maryknoll Sister for 67 years.

Katherine was born in New Rochelle, NY, October 13, 1927 to Mary Webber Mallon and Frank G. Mallon. She had one brother, John, and one sister, Margaret. Her parents, her brother and sister have all predeceased her.

Katherine graduated from St. Gabriel’s High School, New Rochelle in 1947. She entered the Maryknoll Sisters Congregation from Blessed Sacrament Parish, New Rochelle in the Archdiocese of New York on September 6. At her Reception, she received the religious name Sister Walter Marie. She made her First Profession of Vows on March 7, 1951 at the Maryknoll Sisters Center. She remained at the center to give service at the Maryknoll Society Seminary, the Sisters’ Center kitchens and with the Sisters’ Promotion Department. In 1956, she was assigned to study nursing for her L.P.N. at Queen of the World Hospital in Kansas City, MO. She made her Final Profession of Vows on March 7, 1954 at the Maryknoll Sisters Center.

Sr. Katherine was assigned to the Maryknoll Sisters’ T.B. Hospital in Monrovia, CA in 1957 where she was recognized for her excellent nursing skills. In 1968, she was sent to Mexico City for language and culture study after which she went to Jacaltenango Hospital in the Department of Huehuetenango, Guatemala. During the next 30 years, 1968 to 1998 she served the indigenous people of Guatemala— with the exception of three years when she returned to Maryknoll to serve in the Residential Care Unit—doing nursing in rural public health, maternity unit in the hospital, outpatient care, teaching public health in villages which included pre and post natal care, a nutrition center for mal-nourished children, and ministering to AIDS patients and their families.

Failing health necessitated her return to the Maryknoll Sisters Center in 2005, where she was a patient in the Maryknoll Sisters Home Care Unit.

A Vespers service will be held for Sister Katherine, Monday, August 29 at 4:15 p.m. in the Main Chapel at the Maryknoll Sisters Center. A funeral Mass will follow on Tuesday, August 30 at 11:00 a.m. also in the Main Chapel at the Maryknoll Sisters Center. Interment will follow in the Maryknoll Sisters Cemetery on the center grounds.

Sister Kathleen M. Skenyon, Maryknoll Sister for 69 Years

Posted on June 4, 2016

Sister Kathleen M. Skenyon, Maryknoll Sister for 69 Years
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Maryknoll, NY: Sister Kathleen Skenyon died on May 30, 2016 at Maryknoll Sisters Center in Ossining, NY. She was 92 years old and had been a Maryknoll Sister for 69 years.

Kathleen was born on May 4, 1924 in Providence, RI to Mary Gallagher Skenyon and Patrick Skenyon. She is survived by her sister, Peggy. Her four brothers, James, John, Leo and Vincent predeceased her.

Kathleen graduated from St. Patrick’s High School, Providence, RI in 1941. She worked at the New England Telephone and Telegraph Company as an operator during which time she attended night courses at Providence College Extension School (1944 – 46) and Edgewood Secretarial School (1945 – 46). She entered the Maryknoll Sisters Novitiate from her home parish, St. Pius V, Providence on October 5, 1946. At her reception she received the religious name, Sister M. St. Anne. She made her first Profession of Vows on April 6, 1949 at the Maryknoll Sisters Center and her Final Vows on April 6, 1952 in Hawaii.

Sister Kathleen attended Maryknoll Teachers College at Maryknoll, NY where she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Education in 1951 and was assigned to Hawaii the same year, where she taught at Maryknoll Elementary School, in Honolulu’s Punahou district. In 1955 she worked in the Diocesan Catechetical Office for two years and then returned to Maryknoll Elementary School from 1957 – 61.

Subsequently, she taught at St. Augustine School, Waikiki in 1961 and St. Anthony School, Kalihi, from 1962–1966. She then served as librarian for Grades K–12 at St. Anthony School, Wailuku, Maui, from 1966–72. The years 1968–72 also found her studying during the summers at the University of Hawaii where she earned an M.A. in Library Science. She also studied Braille in 1979 and in 1984, sign language.

During the years that followed Sister Kathleen served at St. Ann’s Elementary School as Librarian with responsibility for CCD and religious classes, for children and adults. Her librarian expertise had her working at Kahumana, a residential center for the mentally ill in Waianae from 1979 – 84. Her work as librarian continued in Nanakuli, where she also served as a substitute teacher from 1984 – 88. She assisted in setting up a new library on the Island of Yap in the Federated States of Micronesia and trained U.S. Peace Corps members in library preparation. In 1991 she was invited to American Samoa where she worked for three years setting up two high schools and two elementary school libraries and training librarians to manage them. In 1994, she retired to Nanakuli and did volunteer work and from 1996 to 2002 tutoring English and Math at Leeward Community College in Waianae.

Sister Kathleen returned to Ossining, NY in 2002 due to ill health. There she resided at the Maryknoll Sisters Home Care Unit, engaged in a ministry of prayer and correspondence. She died peacefully on the morning of May 30, 2016.

A Vespers Service will be held on Monday, June 6th at 4:15p.m. in the Main Chapel at the Maryknoll Sisters Center. A funeral Mass of the Resurrection will be on Tuesday, June 7th at 11:00 a.m. also in the Main Chapel at the Maryknoll Sisters Center. Interment will follow in the Maryknoll Sisters Cemetery on the Center grounds.

Sister Rita A. Nixon, Maryknoll Sister and Health Worker for 64 Years

Posted on June 4, 2016

Sister Rita A. Nixon, Maryknoll Sister and Health Worker for 64 Years
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Maryknoll, NY: Sister Rita Nixon died on May 28, 2016 at Maryknoll Sisters Center. She was 91 years old and had been a Maryknoll Sister for 64 years.
Rita was born on May 22, 1925 in Beverly, MA to Katherine Amelia Nixon and Joseph Patrick Nixon. She had one brother, Joseph Francis and two sisters, Katherine and Mary Anne. All have predeceased her.

Rita graduated from St. Mary’s High School, Beverly, MA in 1942 and earned a diploma at Salem Commercial (1942-43). Following this she enrolled in nurses training at Beverly Hospital School of Nursing and earned her R.N. from 1943-46. After graduating she worked at Beverly Hospital for several months. She then went to the Boston Visiting Nurses’ Association where she worked for five years, during which time she also attended Simmons College, Boston (1947-48) where she earned a certificate in Public Health. She also organized the Star of the Sea Guild, the North Shore Chapter of the Boston Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Nurses and was the first Guild President. From 1950-51 she went to the Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. for a semester and on September 6, 1951 entered the Maryknoll Sisters Congregation in Ossining, NY from St. Mary Star of the Sea Parish, Beverly, MA. At her reception she received the name Sister Rita Miriam. She made her first Profession of Vows on March 7, 1954 at the Maryknoll Sisters Motherhouse, in Ossining, NY and was assigned to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) that same year. Arriving in Kandy, Ceylon in 1955, she was Nursing Supervisor and Supervisor of Surgical Wards in a government hospital until 1959 when she was assigned to Kundasale and served as parish sacristan and to other parish and general house duties.

In 1960 she returned to the Motherhouse and Bethany, the Sisters’ nursing home at that time. She made her Final Profession of Vows at the Motherhouse on March 7, 1960. In 1961, Sister Rita was assigned to assist at the Maryknoll Sisters’ Novitiate in Valley Park, MO, where she was Assistant Superior until 1967. In 1968 she moved to the Maryknoll Sisters Retirement Center in Monrovia, CA where she was house superior until 1971. From there she moved to Duarte, CA joining the Western Region. She attended a refresher course for R.N’s at Los Angeles City College. During 1972-73 she worked at City of Hope Medical Center and with the Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) of Pasadena. In 1974 she was assigned to the U.S. Eastern Region and Baltimore, MD where she again worked with the VNA doing outreach into patients’ homes, with therapy and health care for ten years. From 1984 to 1997 she continued to work with Baltimore VNA Hospice Programs and Staff RN Home Care (full time). She was also a volunteer Teacher Aide in Adult Education Program three to six hours a week. When she retired she continued to do volunteer work at the St. Vincent De Paul Soup Kitchen and in Hospice work until 2006.

Sister Rita was assigned to the Maryknoll Sisters’ Center at Ossining, NY in 2007. Due to failing health, she joined the Maryknoll Sisters’ Home Care unit in 2015 where she died on May 28, 2016. Sister Rita donated her body to science.

A Vespers Service will be held on Thursday, June 2th at 4:15 p.m. in the Main Chapel at the Maryknoll Sisters Center. A Memorial Mass will be celebrated on Friday, June 3 at 11:00 A.M. in the main chapel of the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Ossining, N.Y. Interment will follow in the Maryknoll Sisters Cemetery on the Center grounds.

Sister Mary Moriarty, Maryknoll Missioner in Tanzania for 50 Years

Posted on April 6, 2016

Sister Mary Moriarty, Maryknoll Missioner in Tanzania for 50 Years
Maryknoll, NY — Sister Mary Moriarty died on Tuesday April 5th, 2016, at the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Ossining, NY. Sister Mary was 91 years old and had been a Maryknoll Sister for 50 years.

Mary Moriarty was born in Westfield, MA, June 27, 1925 to Margaret (Maloney) Moriarty and John Joseph Moriarty. She had one brother John and one sister, Jeannette. Her brother, sister and both parents have predeceased her.
She graduated from St. Mary’s High School, Westfield, MA in 1941. She then attended Bennett Secretarial School in Westfield. She had almost 10 years of experience as a professional secretary when she entered the Maryknoll Sisters Congregation from St. Mary’s Parish in Westfield, MA on September 6, 1951 at the Maryknoll Sisters Center in Ossining, NY. At her reception, she received the religious name, Sister Paul Mary. She made her First Profession of Vows on March 7, 1954 at the Maryknoll Sisters Center and her Final Vows on March 7, 1960 in Tanzania, East Africa.

When Sister Mary professed her first set of Vows her vast experience and expertise as a secretary and bookkeeper were recognized and she was assigned to the General Bursar’s Office at the Maryknoll Sisters Center until 1958 when she received her overseas assignment to Tanzania. There she became the Sisters’ Regional Treasurer from 1958-2001. She first went to Morogoro, TZ where she was catechist and bursar until 1960. She then moved to Rosana, TZ, where she was house superior, bursar, religion teacher, pastoral worker and bookkeeper. In 1965, she was relocated to Makoko, TZ where she was again superior of the house as well as involved in social service, youth work and nursery school education.

Following her renewal in 1967, she returned to Musoma, Tanzania where she worked as personal Secretary to Bishop John Rudin of Musoma Diocese until 1980. She also served as Diocesan Treasurer and Part Time Catechetical and Pastoral Worker. Later, from 1980 to 1987 she was Secretary to Archbishop Anthony Mayala and Treasurer of the diocese. From 1988 to 1995, she was Secretary to the Tanzania Regional Superior of the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers.

In addition to all of this, Sister Mary was Director of the Mwembeni Social Center intermittently from 1977 – 2001, where she taught English and typing classes. In 2000, she founded a Youth Center, a Nursery and a Library in Musoma and worked with women. In 2006-2007, she was Administrator of a Sports Center Project. In recognition of Sister Mary’s many works performed in the Diocese of Musoma, she was awarded the Pope’s Cross “Pro Ecclesia” during the Golden Anniversary of the diocese in 2007.

She returned to the Maryknoll Sisters Center in August of 2008 where she died on April 5, 2016.

A Vespers service will be held for Sister Mary on Thursday, April 7, at 4:15 p.m. in the Main Chapel at Maryknoll Sisters Center. A funeral Mass will follow on Friday on April 8, at 11:00 a.m. also in the Main Chapel at the Center. Interment will follow in the Maryknoll Sisters Cemetery on the Center grounds.

Sister Margaret Mary Fitzgerald, Maryknoll Missioner for 69 Years

Posted on March 25, 2016

Sister Margaret Mary Fitzgerald, Maryknoll Missioner for 69 Years
Maryknoll NY: Sister Margaret Mary Fitzgerald died on Thursday March 24th, 2016, at the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Ossining, NY. Sr. Margaret was 95 years old and had been a Maryknoll Sister for 69 years.

Margaret Mary Fitzgerald was born in Somerville, MA, September 9th, 1920, the daughter of Catherine Leahy and William Joseph Fitzgerald. She had four brothers, William, Joseph, James (a Maryknoll Priest), and Edward. Both James and Edward have predeceased her.

After graduating from St. John’s High School in 1938, she attended Higgins Commercial Machine School followed by one year (1939-1940) at Fay’s Evening School in Boston, MA. She was employed at Filene’s, in Boston for 6 months and then at Nicholson & Co. in Cambridge, MA for the next six years. Margaret entered the Maryknoll Sisters Congregation on October 5th, 1946 at the Maryknoll Sisters Center from St. John the Evangelist Parish, Cambridge, MA. At Reception she was given the religious name, Sister M. William Karen. She made her First Vows on April 6th, 1949 and her Final Vows on April 6th, 1952, both at the Maryknoll Sisters Center.

Her first assignment was to work on the publication, The Field Afar, a predecessor of the Maryknoll Magazine, from 1950– 1951 while residing at Crichton House, Croton – on –Hudson. In 1951, she was assigned to Bethany House, at that time the Maryknoll Sisters nursing home. In 1952, she began work at the Maryknoll Post Office, becoming Post Mistress in 1956– 1973.

She then studied Theology at the Maryknoll Seminary from 1973 – 1975, after which she was named Congregational Personnel Director from 1975 – 1980.

In 1981, after 30 years of service in the United States, Sister Margaret received her first overseas assignment to Bolivia, South America. After six months of language study at Cochabamba, she moved to Montero, teaching her marketable craft-making skills to women.

In the following year, 1982, she received an invitation to work in Riberalta, the Beni area of Bolivia, as Secretary to the Bishop in the Pando Vicariate. She held this position until 2005 and then returned to the Maryknoll Sisters Center working part-time in the Development Department until 2006. Sister Margaret retired in 2009 to the Eden Community at the Maryknoll Sisters Center where she died on March 24th, 2016.

A Vespers Service will be held on Monday, March 28th at 4:15 p.m. in the Main Chapel at the Maryknoll Sisters Center. A funeral Mass of the Resurrection will be on Tuesday, March 29th at 11:00 a.m. also in the Main Chapel at the Maryknoll Sisters Center. Interment will follow in the Maryknoll Sisters Cemetery on the Center grounds.

Sister Joan Malherek, Maryknoll Sister for 65 Years

Posted on March 16, 2016

Sister Joan Malherek, Maryknoll Sister for 65 Years
Maryknoll, NY: Sister Joan Malherek, an educator and pastoral worker died in her sleep on March 13, 2016 in Monrovia, CA. She was 90 years old and a Maryknoll Sister for 65 years.

Joan L. Malherek was born in Mankato, Minnesota, August 20, 1925 to Mary Grace Siegel Malherek and Peter Edward Malherek. She had two brothers, Joseph and Paul and two sisters, Margaret and Mary. Her Sister Mary is also a Maryknoll Sister. Her parents and both brothers have predeceased her.

Joan graduated from Granada H.S., Granada, MN in 1942 and obtained a Teacher’s Certificate from Mankato State Teachers College in 1944. She then taught for six years in the public schools in Minnesota. She entered the Maryknoll Sisters Congregation from Our Lady of Mercy Parish (Mission of Sts. Peter and Paul, Blue Earth MN) in the Diocese of Winona, MN with her younger sister Mary on February 1, 1951, at the Maryknoll Sisters’ Novitiate in Valley Park, MO. At her Reception, she received the religious name Sister M. Joan Peter. She made her First Profession of Vows on September 8, 1953 at Valley Park, MO, and then Final Profession of Vows on September 8, 1959 at the Maryknoll Sisters Motherhouse in Ossining, NY.

Sister Joan received her Bachelor’s Degree in Education from Maryknoll Teachers College in 1954 and after graduation was assigned to teach at Transfiguration Parish in Chinatown, NY until 1962. In that same year, she was assigned to Hawaii where she taught religion and mathematics in Maryknoll High School in Honolulu for the next eight years. She obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics in 1971 from the University of Minnesota. From 1973 to 1976, she taught at Loyola High School, Mankato, MN while on home ministry with her mother and from 1976 to 1978 she gave service at the Center Health Unit at Maryknoll, NY.

After 27 years of formal classroom teaching Sister Joan requested to go to a more rural mission and was assigned to Guatemala where she did parish work and worked with women from 1979 until 1986 when she returned to Maryknoll, NY for a year. In 1988, she returned to Central America, to Mexico, fostering 22 Basic Christian Communities in a parish of 60,000 people. She participated in “Call and Response”, the Maryknoll Society’s program in which U.S. families experienced mission life in Latin America for a few weeks, growing in awareness and sensitivity to people of other cultures. In 2003, she moved to Colonel Azucena, Mexico Center where she did volunteer work with women until 2006.

In 2006, Sister Joan returned to the Maryknoll Sisters Center where she worked in the Mission Awareness and Promotion Office, serving as Office Manager for 3 months there before she retired in 2010. She moved to the Maryknoll Sisters Convent in Monrovia CA where she died on March 13, 2016.

The funeral Mass will take place on April 1st in the Maryknoll Sisters Chapel, Monrovia, CA and internment will be in the Maryknoll Sisters Cemetery on the Center grounds, Maryknoll, NY.

Sister Katharine Razwad, Maryknoll Sister for 70 Years

Posted on March 8, 2016

Sister Katharine Razwad, Maryknoll Sister for 70 Years
Maryknoll, NY: Sister Katharine Razwad, an educator and counselor died after surgery on March 4, 2016 at Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA. She was 93 years old and a Maryknoll Sister for 70 years.

Adele Catherine was born in Boston, MA, June 23, 1922 to Katharine Zaltauskos Razwad and George J. Razwad. She had one brother, Alphonse J. and three sisters, Blanche, Frances and Martha. Her parents, brother and two sisters, Blanche and Martha have predeceased her.

Adele graduated from St. Augustine High School, Boston, MA in 1940. She attended Boston Clerical Business School from 1940 – 1942 and worked at the Office of Price Administration, Boston, MA for 2 years. In 1945, she took a course in Applied Psychology at Harvard University.  She entered the Maryknoll Sisters Congregation from St. Peter’s Parish in the Archdiocese of Boston on September 6, 1945 at the Maryknoll Sisters Motherhouse in Ossining, NY.  At her reception, she received the religious name Sister M. Katharine George. During 1947 – 1951, Sister Katharine studied at Maryknoll Teachers College where she earned a Bachelor of Education. She made her first Profession of Vows on March 7, 1948 at Maryknoll and taught during 1950 -1952 at Transfiguration Elementary School in Chinatown, New York. She made her final Profession of Vows on March 7, 1951 at the Maryknoll Sisters Motherhouse.

She was assigned to the Philippine Region in 1952 and sent to the island of Koror, Palau, Caroline Islands, where she taught grades 4 – 9 in Maris Stella School.  In 1956 she moved to Manila, and taught grade 4 and catechetics at Maryknoll College while attending college courses. She was reassigned to Koror and to Maris Stella School in 1957 as principal where she remained until 1963. In 1964 she joined the staff of Lasalette College in Ilocus Sur and one year later, she was asked to serve as principal in the high school in Santiago, Isabela. She returned to Koror once again and to Mindszenty High School until 1969.

In 1970, Sister Katharine returned to the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Ossining, NY and studied at Boston College from 1970 to 1972, earning a Master’s in Education in Counseling /Psychology.  In 1973 she was assigned to the Maryknoll Sisters’ Eastern U.S. Region and worked in Boston in a volunteer program as a counselor until 1975.  In that same year, she enrolled in Boston College for a postgraduate course in “Career Development”. During 1976 -1977, she worked in Boston Public Schools doing preventive counseling at the Elementary Level. In 1978, she moved to Condon Public School again in the same counseling program for six years. In 1984, she worked as a substitute teacher in the Boston Public School System until her retirement in 1995. She has been on full time “Family Ministry” since 1996.

A Vespers service will be held for Sister Katharine, March 9 at 4:15 p.m. in the Main Chapel at Maryknoll Sisters Center.  A funeral Mass will follow on March 10 at 11:00 a.m. also in the Main Chapel at the Center. Interment will follow in the Maryknoll Sisters Cemetery on the Center grounds.