Maryknoll, NY — Sister Margaret Frances Kulage, MM, the eldest Maryknoll Sister, who served primarily in Hawaii and the Philippines, died August 28, 2014, at Maryknoll Sisters Home Care IV, Maryknoll, NY.  She was 107 years old and had been a Maryknoll Sister for 85 years.

Born on June 24, 1907, in St. Louis, MO, to Henry J. and Cunigunda Kuenz Kulage, she was one of nine children born to the couple.

A graduate of Holy Cross Parochial School, St. Louis, Margaret attended Speedwa Business School, St. Louis, from 1920-1921, working for Shell Oil Company for eight years until she entered the Maryknoll Sisters Congregation at their motherhouse in Maryknoll, NY, from Holy Cross Church, St. Louis, on April 5, 1929. At reception, she received the religious name Sister M. Irma Francis.

After making First Vows at Maryknoll on June 24, 1931, Sister Marge, as her friends called her, studied at The Venard, a Maryknoll junior seminary in Clarks Summit, PA, from which she graduated in 1936.  She made Final Vows at Maryknoll on June 24, 1934, and worked at the Maryknoll Sisters Center in various capacities until receiving her first mission assignment, to Hawaii, in 1943.

A courageous and sensitive young woman, impassioned by a quest for peace and justice for the poor, Sister Marge devoted herself to catechetics, pastoral work and teaching in Hawaii for approximately 20 years. She served on Oahu, in Waialua from 1943-1945, and Kalihi Kai from 1945-1953. Returning to the Motherhouse, she completed her college work earning a Bachelor of Education degree at Maryknoll Teachers College while also serving as Assistant Superior at the Motherhouse. From 1959 to 1962, she served as Superior at St. Theresa’s Convent, the residence for the Maryknoll Sisters working in the Maryknoll Fathers’ offices. Returning to Hawaii in 1962 she served as superior in Kalihi Kai and then was assigned to Wailuku on the island of Maui from 1965-1966.

Following two years in administration at the Motherhouse from 1967-1969, Sister Marge was sent to the Philippines, where she taught at Maryknoll College, Manila, from 1969-1970, then served as principal of La Salette Elementary School, Santiago City, Isabella, from 1970-1972.

From 1972 to 1978, she was the secretary to the Maryknoll Fathers’ Regional superior and coordinator for the Maryknoll Sisters in Davao, Philippines. That same year, she and 11 other Maryknoll Sisters survived an ordeal at sea, when they survived 16 hours in shark-infested waters off the east coast of Mindanao after their boat capsized. In an account written several months later, Sister Marge recalled the incident: “At 5:15 or a little later, I looked at my watch and said to Joanie (another of the Sisters), ‘Do you realize that you and I have been travelling almost 12.5 hours already?’ A few minutes later, I found myself coming up for air…. Instinctively, I must have grabbed hold of the boat as I came up…. Once we were all in position, we again marveled and thanked God that no one had been hurt.  This was good, not only for the obvious reason but also because blood in the water would attract sharks. Every one of us knew the area was shark infested, but no one mentioned the fact until we were safe ashore. We hoisted (Sister) Patricia Marie’s white veil on a spar and prayed that it would be sighted.”

She then undertook a Prayer ministry, and became interested in the charismatic prayer movement. From 1979 to 1990, she worked visiting various prisons in the Philippines. The photo above shows her with one of the prisoners to whom she ministered.

Officially retiring to the United States in 1991, Sister Marge lived at the Maryknoll Sisters residence in Monrovia, CA, until her return to the Motherhouse in 1995 where she resided until her death.

A Vesper service will be held for Sister Margaret on Tuesday, September 2,  2014, at 4:15 p.m., at the Annunciation Chapel, Maryknoll Sisters Center, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial on Wednesday, September 3, 2014,  at 11 a.m. at the same location. Burial will be in the Maryknoll Sisters Cemetery on the Maryknoll Sisters Center grounds.

Sister Marie Patrice Kehoe, MM, who served primarily as a teacher, then a nurse, in Hawaii for nearly 50 years, died August 9, 2014, at Maryknoll Sisters Home Care III, Maryknoll, NY.  She was 91 years old and had been a Maryknoll Sister for 72 years.

Born on May 10, 1923, in New Rochelle, NY, to Raymond F. and Mary Wilde Kehoe, and christened Patricia Marie, she was one of six children born to the couple.  As a child, she attended Holy Family Parish, New Rochelle, with her family, graduating from Cathedral High School, New York, NY, in 1940.

Patricia Marie entered the Maryknoll Sisters Congregation at their motherhouse in Maryknoll, NY, from St. Anthanasius Parish, Evanston, IL, on December 8, 1941, and received the religious name of Marie Patrice, which she retained for the whole of  life as a Maryknoll Sister. She made her First Vows on June 30, 1944,  and Final Vows on June 30, 1947, both at the congregation’s motherhouse.

Following completion of teacher training at Maryknoll College, Maryknoll, NY in 1947, Sister Marie Patrice taught for a year in Boston’s Chinatown before being sent to Hawaii, where she taught math and religion at Maryknoll High School in  the Punahou district of Honolulu from 1948-1970.

She then returned to the mainland United States, where she took courses in theology at Manhattan College, New York City, then enrolled at Pace University in 1971, where she earned an R.N. in 1973.

Sister Marie Patrice then returned to Hawaii where she worked at St. Francis Hospital, Honolulu, from 1974-1976, followed by six years serving as a nurse-teacher on Majuro in the Marshall Islands from 1976-1982.

Returning once again to the Maryknoll Sisters Center, , Sister Marie Patrice worked as a nurse in the  Maryknoll Sisters Nursing Home, from 1982-1985.  She was then sent back to Hawaii, where she worked as a nurse for Maryknoll High School, in Honolulu, as well as wherever else her services were needed in the region, from 1985-2007.  She had lived at the motherhouse since 2007, volunteering in various capacities, particularly with ill and elderly Sisters from 2007-2009.

Sister Marie Patrice, who donated her body to science, is survived by a brother, Michael A. Kehoe of Springfield Center, NY, and a sister, Mrs. Ann Marie Chapman of Washington, DC.

Sister Joan Michel Kirsch, the last surviving pioneer Maryknoll Sisters missionary to the continent of Africa, died July 28, 2014, at Maryknoll Sisters Home Care III, Maryknoll, NY.  She was 94 years old and had been a Maryknoll Sister for 71 years.

Born on October 20, 1919, in Wheeling, WV, to Charles and Anna Kress Kirsch, and christened Virginia Dorothy Kirsch, Sister Joan was one of three girls born to the couple. She entered Maryknoll at their motherhouse in Maryknoll, NY, from St. Alphonsus Parish, Wheeling, on September 7, 1943, and received her religious name, which she retained for the whole of her life as a Maryknoll Sister. She made her First Vows on March 7, 1946, at Maryknoll, New York, and her Final Vows on March 7, 1949, in Africa.

Sister Joan was assigned to Tanzania, East Africa (then known as Tanganyika) in 1948, primarily doing catechetical and pastoral work in Kowak, from 1949-1957.  She opened the first house in Shinyanga diocese in Buhangija, where she was local superior, while doing pastoral and catechetical work from 1957-1962, then in Sayusayu from 1962-1969.

Sister Joan was next assigned to the Pastoral Institute in Gaba, Uganda, where she was in charge of the Secretariat office and private secretary to the director of the Institute from 1969-1974.

Returning to the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Maryknoll, NY, in 1974, Sister Joan served as assistant secretary to the Center Unit Board, then as a member of the Center’s general secretarial pool, serving various departments, in 1975. She then worked as a secretary in the Center’s Personnel Department from 1975-1991 and for the Center Council from 1992-1994, when she retired.

Predeceased by her parents and sisters, Sister Joan is survived by three nephews, Steven, John and Henry Roth, all of Wheeling.

A Vesper service was to be held for Sister Joan on Thursday, July 31, 2014 at 4:15 p.m., at the Annunciation Chapel, Maryknoll Sisters Center, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial on Friday, August 1, 2014, at 11 a.m. at the same location. Burial will be in the Maryknoll Sisters Cemetery at Maryknoll, NY. Dorsey Funeral Home is handling the arrangements.

Maryknoll, NY Sister Agnes Christine Welscher, a native of Brooklyn, NY, and educator in China and the United States, died April 12, 2014, at Maryknoll Sisters Home Care IV, Maryknoll, NY.  She was 79 years old and had been a Maryknoll Sister for 61 years.

Agnes Marion Welscher, born on July 16, 1934, in Brooklyn to Joseph and Margaret Naeder Welscher, entered Maryknoll at the Venard, Scranton, PA, from Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish, Brooklyn, on September 2, 1952. She received the religious name, Sister Agnes Christine, at her Reception in March 1953, made her First Vows on September 8, 1955 at the Maryknoll Motherhouse and her Final Vows on the same day in 1961, in Chicago, IL.

A 1975 graduate of Loyola University, Chicago, with an MA in education, Sister Agnes Christine also earned a bachelor’s degree in education from Maryknoll Teachers College, Maryknoll, NY, in 1960 and a certificate from the East Asian Pastoral Institute, Quezon City, Philippines, in 1970.  She was also a 1952 graduate of Bishop McDonnell Memorial High School, Brooklyn, NY.

Sister Agnes Christine’s first assignment was teaching first-grade students at St. Therese School in Chicago’s Chinatown from 1960-1965. She was then sent to China, where she served as assistant principal of Maryknoll Convent School, Primary Section in Kowloontong from 1965-1967 and principal of a primary school in Chai Wan, from 1967-1970.

Sister Agnes Christine then returned to the United States, where she worked in the Promotion office at the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Maryknoll, NY, speaking about the work of the congregation to parishes and schools.  She was then called back to St. Therese’s School in Chicago’s Chinatown where she again taught first grade from 1972-1975.

After another brief period working in the congregation’s Promotion Office, Sister Agnes Christine was named religious education coordinator for St. Columban’s  Parish, Peekskill, NY,  a position she held from 1977-1984, when she was appointed to the same position, this time at St. Patrick’s Parish, Armonk, NY,  from 1984-1990. She continued working in religious education in the Eastern U.S. Region from 1990-1993.

In 1994, Sister Agnes Christine returned to the Maryknoll Sisters Center, where she worked in supportive services from 1994-1995 and in outreach ministry, serving at local parishes and as a driver from 1995-2000, when she retired, dedicating herself to prayer for the congregation and its various works until her death.

Sister Agnes is survived by her sister, Rose Connelly of Forest Hills, NY.

A Vesper service will be held for Sister Agnes on Tuesday, April 15, 2014 at 4:15 p.m., followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, April 16, 2014. Both will be held in the Annunciation Chapel at the Maryknoll Sisters Center.  Burial will be in the Maryknoll Sisters Cemetery at Maryknoll, NY. Dorsey Funeral Home is handling the arrangements.

Maryknoll, NY Sister Agnes Cazale, a native of New Orleans, LA, and  Maryknoll missioner and catechist in China for over 50 years, died  April 8, 2014, at Maryknoll Sisters Home Care IV, Maryknoll, NY.  She was 91 years old and had been a Maryknoll Sister for 70 years.

Born on January 30, 1923, in New Orleans to Philip P. and Henrietta Lassus Cazale, Sister Agnes was one of six girls and one boy born to the couple. She entered Maryknoll at its motherhouse in Maryknoll, NY, from St. Matthew’s Parish, Riverridge, LA, on September 7, 1943, and received the religious name, Sister Maria Petra, at her reception into the community.  She made her First Vows on March 7, 1946 at Maryknoll, New York, and her Final Vows on March 7, 1949, in Wuchow, Kwangsi, South China.

She graduated from Iona College, New Rochelle, NY, in 1982 with an MS in Pastoral Counseling and a certificate in spiritual direction from its Center of Spirituality and Justice.  Sister Agnes also earned a B.A. in Community Service from Mary Rogers College, Maryknoll, NY, in 1971. Prior to entering Maryknoll, she also attended LaSalle Extension School, Chicago, from 1941-1942 and Allen School of Commerce, New Orleans, LA, from 1939-1940. She  graduated from Dominican High School, New Orleans, in 1939.

Following a year of service in Maryknoll Seminary kitchen and Maryknoll Sisters Center laundry, Sister Agnes received her appointment to China in 1947. She studied Chinese language and culture in Wuchow City for a year, then began her work in catechetics in Wuchow, Sz Wong, and Loting where she served until 1951.

Following a period of house arrest endured after Mao Tse Tung came to power, Sister Agnes and other Maryknollers were sent to Hong Kong, where she then continued her work in catechetics, serving in Kowloon in the Tung Tau Refugee Area, from 1951-1958.  She then served in Toufen, Taipei, Taiwan, from 1958-1961; Kowloon Tsai Refugee Area, from 1963-1968; and Chai Waan Refugee Area, Hong Kong, from 1971-1973.

Sister Agnes then became director of the women’s section at Adam Schall Hostel, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, from 1972-1977, during which time she also served as administrator of her region. In 1977, Sister Agnes returned to the Maryknoll Sisters Center, where she worked in the Development Department until 1982, while studying for her master’s at Iona College.

She returned to China in 1982, where she was involved in spiritual direction and counseling with the nursing students at Our Lady of Maryknoll Hospital and the students at Maryknoll Convent School until 1991, and in regional administration from 1991-1997.  She was the regional archivist from 1991-2000, and served on both the Board of Governors and the Hospital Authority Governing Committee for Our Lady of Maryknoll Hospital from 2001-2005.

Sister Agnes is survived by two sisters, Sister Ursula Cazale, DC, in St. Louis, MO, and Rita Lechnar of Uniontown, PA.

A Vesper service will be held for Sister Agnes on Monday, April 14 at 4:15 p.m., followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 11 a.m. on April 15. Both will be held in the Annunciation Chapel at the Maryknoll Sisters Center. Burial will be in the Maryknoll Sisters Cemetery at Maryknoll, NY. Dorsey Funeral Home is handling the arrangements.

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.