Sister Margaret Mary Fitzgerald, Maryknoll Missioner for 69 YearsMaryknoll 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 YearsMaryknoll, 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 Helen Scheel, Maryknoll Sister for 69 YearsMaryknoll, NY – Sister Helen Scheel, an educator and social justice worker, died Monday, January 4, 2016, at Maryknoll Sisters Center, Ossining, NY. She was 87 years old.

Born November 30, 1928, in Baltimore, MD, to Joseph A. and Julia Hintenach Scheel, Sister Helen graduated from Shrine of the Little Flower School, Baltimore, in 1942, and the Catholic High School of Baltimore in 1946.  She then worked as a bookkeeper and stenographer at The Boone-Elder Company, Baltimore, for 15 months, prior to entering Maryknoll Sisters at their Valley Park, MO, novitiate on October 30, 1947.  She called Community of the Most Precious Blood Parish, also in Baltimore, as her home parish.

Following her entrance to Maryknoll, Sister Helen was given the religious name of Sister M. Paul Gerard.  She made her First Profession of Vows on May 8, 1950, at Valley Park, MO and her Final Vows at the Maryknoll Sisters Motherhouse (now the Maryknoll Sisters Center), Maryknoll, NY, on May 8, 1953.  She completed a bachelor’s degree in education at Maryknoll Teachers College in 1955.

Following her graduation, Sister Helen was assigned to the congregation’s U.S. Western Region.  She taught Grades 2-8 at San Juan Capistrano Elementary School in California from 1955-1962, then became the school’s principal from 1962-1966, after which she was appointed Assistant Juniorate Mistress at Maryknoll, NY, a position she held from the summer of 1966 to the summer of 1967.  From 1967-1973, she served as Local Superior at Monrovia, CA, and Regional Superior of the US Western Region. During this time, 1971-1974, she studied for a Master’s degree in adult education at California State University, Los Angeles, and worked as a teacher and coordinator of the Adult Basic Education Program for Monrovia Unified School District.

In 1974, Sister Helen was assigned to the congregation’s U.S. Eastern Region for family ministry in Baltimore, MD.  While there, she worked in the Adult Education Program of the Baltimore County Education Department until 1997. During this same period, she worked at the Alliance for Justice, a third world advocacy project in Baltimore, funded by the Medical Mission Sisters.

Following her retirement in 1998, Sister Helen continued her involvement with justice and peace work and tutoring on a volunteer basis, until her return to the Maryknoll Sisters Center in 2007, where she lived until her death.

Sister Helen is survived by her brother, Brother Nivard Scheel of Elm Grove, WI.

A vespers service will be held for Sister Helen on January 7, 2016, at 4:15 p.m. in the Chapel of the Annunciation at the Maryknoll Sisters Center. A Memorial Mass will follow on January 8, 2016, at 11 a.m., also at the Center.

Sister Margaret Shepherd, Maryknoll Sister for 68 YearsMaryknoll, NY – Sister Margaret Shepherd, MM, who served for 41 years in Hong Kong, died December 6, 2015, at Maryknoll Sisters Center, Ossining, NY. She was 96 years old.

Born on August 13, 1919, in Havre, MT, to Oliver C. and Beatrice Boyle Shepherd, Sister Margaret was one of four children born to the couple. She attended Elementary School and Middle School in Havre, from 1925-1932; graduated  from Havre High School in 1936,  attended Northern Montana College in Havre from 1936-1937 and Kinman Business University, Spokane, WA, from 1937-1938.

She then worked as stenographer and clerical worker for Continental Coal Company, Spokane, from 1938-1939, Long Lake Lumber Company, Spokane, from 1939-1940, and the Social Security Administration, first in Washington, DC, from 1940-1942, then San Francisco, CA, from 1943-1947.

Sister Margaret entered Maryknoll Sisters at their novitiate in Valley Park, MO, on October 30, 1947 from St. Agnes Parish, San Francisco, CA, receiving the religious name, Sister Rose Martin.   Following formation, she made her First Profession of Vows on May 8, 1950, in Valley Park, then worked at the Maryknoll Sisters Motherhouse, Maryknoll, NY, from 1950-1952; at Bethany Convent, then the residence for elderly and infirm Maryknoll Sisters in Ossining, NY, from 1952-1957, and St. Teresa’s, another Maryknoll residence, from 1957 until 1959.  She made her Final Vows on May 8, 1953, at the Maryknoll Sisters Motherhouse.

Later in 1959, Sister Margaret received the appointment to Hong Kong which she had long desired, teaching at Maryknoll Convent School in Kowloontong from 1957-1968.  She then returned to the United States, where she completed her college education, receiving a B.S. in Education from Mary Rogers College, Maryknoll, NY, in 1970.

She then returned to Hong Kong where, following a year of language studies at the Hong Kong Government Language School, she taught religious education, English Language and Literature to secondary school students at Maryknoll Sisters School at Blue Pool Road, Hong Kong, until 1979. After serving in Congregational Services from 1980 to 1984, she returned to teaching at Maryknoll Convent School, Kowloontong, from 1989-1993.  She also facilitated a discussion group with young Chinese workers, and ran retreat and reflection days with Filipina domestic workers.

Then, from 1994-1997, as a member of the Prisoners’ Friends Association in Hong Kong, she made regular visits to Hong Kong’s maximum security prisons, where she shared the Gospel and Christian values with men from Kenya, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Germany, Lesotho and the Philippines.

Upon her retirement in 1998, Sister Margaret moved to the Maryknoll Sisters Convent in Monrovia, CA, where she resided and was involved with volunteer work, doing English testing from 1999-2003, then helping in various ways at Monrovia Community Services from 2004-2008. She then returned to the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Maryknoll, NY, in 2009, where she was a member of the Sisters’ Eden Community until her death.

Sister Margaret is survived by three nephews:  Patrick Shepherd of Stockton, CA, Dennis Shepherd of Carmel, CA, and Bill Shepherd of Decorah, IA.  All her siblings have pre-deceased her.

A vespers service will be held for Sister Margaret on Wednesday, December 9, 2015, at 4:15 p.m. in the Chapel of the Annunciation at the Maryknoll Sisters Center at Maryknoll, NY. A Mass of Christian Burial will follow on Thursday, December 10, 2015, at 11 a.m., also at the Center.  Interment will be in the Maryknoll Sisters Cemetery on the Center grounds.

Sister Catherine Heilig, Maryknoll Sister for 66 YearsMaryknoll, NY – Sister Catherine Heilig, MM, who served for 49 years in Bolivia, died December 2, 2015, at Maryknoll Sisters Center, Ossining, NY. She was 93 years old.

Born on October 6, 1922, in Brookville, NY, to Peter and Anna Heilig, Sister Catherine graduated from Hicksville High School in 1940, then worked for several years at Grumman Aircraft and the K & O Company, Bethpage, NY.  She entered Maryknoll on September 6, 1949 from St. Ignatius Parish, Hicksville, NY.

At her reception into the Maryknoll Community she received the religious name, Sister Maria St. Peter.  She made her First Vows on March 7, 1952, at the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Maryknoll, NY, and worked in the congregation’s Promotion Department that year.

Her assignment to Bolivia came in 1953. Following one year of language study in Cochabamba, Sister Catherine taught first to fourth grade in Guayamerin, Bolivia, from 1955-1957. She was sent to Riberalta in the Bolivian jungle. She first did catechetical work among residents in Riberalta and surrounding communities. Except for three years working in Juli in the Altiplano of Peru, 1961-1964, and three years working in the Congregation’s Development Department, 1977 to 1980, sister served for 45 years in the jungles of Bolivia.  As a member of the Rural Pastoral Institute team, she was involved in Basic Christian Community work and in developing leadership and fostering continuing education of rural men. For her work with women along the rivers of the Beni, the Comite Civico Femenino gave Sister an award for her selfless and dedicated service. She was also given a Diploma of Honor from the Civic Regional Committee of Riberalta. She continued this work until her return to the Maryknoll Sisters Center in 2002.

Following her return to the Maryknoll Sisters Center, she spent hours each week in active ministry at a local food pantry in Ossining, NY, serving the needs of the Hispanic immigrant community. Along with other Maryknoll Sisters and lay volunteers, she helped distribute food to those seeking respite from the streets.   She also was active in prayer ministry on behalf of the work of Maryknoll Archives and the mission of Bolivia until her death.

A vespers service will be held for Sister Catherine on Tuesday, December 8, 2015, at 4:15 p.m. in the Chapel of the Annunciation at the Maryknoll Sisters Center at Maryknoll, NY. A Mass of Christian Burial will follow on Wednesday, December 9, 2015, at 11 a.m., also at the Center.  Interment will be in the Maryknoll Sisters Cemetery on the Center grounds.

Sister Vera Krass, Maryknoll Sister for 60 YearsMaryknoll, NY – Sister Vera Krass, MM, a teacher, secretary, home visitor, volunteer in Tanzania and Hawaii, died October 14, 2015, at Maryknoll Sisters Center, Ossining, NY. She was 88 years old.

Born on August 22, 1927, in Jamaica, NY, to Theodore and Lydia Loffler Krass, Sister Vera entered Maryknoll on September 2, 1955 from Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, Brooklyn, NY.

After graduating from Richmond Hill High School, Richmond Hill, NY, in 1945, she worked as a clerk at the Richmond Hill Savings Bank for three years, a secretary at Time, Inc. for a year, and a secretary in the advertising department at Fortune Magazine for a year. She also attended the Wittenberg College, OH, (1949) and the Grailville Community College, OH (1951-1953) before doing secretarial work for two years at the Missionaries of Saints Peter and Paul, MI.

Sister Vera made her First Vows at the Maryknoll Sisters Motherhouse on June 24, 1958, attained a B.S. in Education from the Maryknoll Teachers College, and began her first overseas assignment to Tanzania, where she made her final vows on June 24, 1964.

For the next five years, she taught English, biology, and history to students in Rosary College, Mwanza, and Marian College, Morogoro. Both schools were established by the Maryknoll Sisters. In addition, she worked at the Shinyanga Commercial School in 1966 where she taught typewriting and shorthand.

The following year, Sister Vera studied for four months at the Pitman College, London, UK, where she received a Shorthand Teachers Certificate. She then returned to Tanzania, serving there until she was called to the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Ossining, NY,  in 1970. There, she did secretarial tasks for the President of the Congregational Leadership Team and for the Communications Department until 1973. She then studied at the Maryknoll Fathers Seminary, where she received her M.A. in Theology in 1974.

To polish her Swahili, Sister Vera attended the Makoko Language School for four months in 1975 before going to Nairobi, Kenya. In Kenya, she became Office Manager of the Secretary General’s Department and  Executive Secretary of the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa “AMECA” from 1976 – 1980. Her work was an effort to assist the local church, supervise three junior staff members, and aid Bishop McCauley.

In 1981, Sister Vera was assigned once more to do pastoral work in Musoma, Tanzania. Four years later, she went back to the Center to do work in computer services before beginning her third career in 1991 as a home visitor in the Central Pacific Region in Honolulu, HI. With the Hana Like Home Visitor Program, Sister Vera advocated the prevention of child abuse and neglect. She also worked at the Homeless Solutions Transitional Shelter where she did social work with women and children.

In 1995, Sister worked with the Regional Governance Administration in Honolulu where she did clerical work. Two years later, she was called back to the Maryknoll Sisters Center to work as an office assistant at the Main House Council and a creative writer for the Development Department.

In 1999, due to the increasing vision problems, Sister Vera was assigned to Monrovia, CA, where she resided until returning, once more, to the Maryknoll Sisters Center in Ossining, NY, 2008.

Sister Vera is survived by her cousin, Hans-Hermann Speidel of Markgroningen, Germany, and her sister-in-law, Ann Krass of Port Jefferson Station, NY.  Her parents, stepmother, and brother George have all predeceased her.

A vespers service will be held for Sister Vera on Monday, October 19, 2015, at 4:15 p.m. in the Chapel of the Annunciation at the Maryknoll Sisters Center at Maryknoll, NY. A Mass of Christian Burial will follow on Tuesday, October 20, 2015, at 11 a.m., also at the Center.  Interment will be in the Maryknoll Sisters Cemetery on the Center grounds.

Sister Sandra Galazin, Maryknoll Sister for 47 YearsMaryknoll, NY – Sister Sandra Anne Galazin, MM, a counselor and social worker in Hawaii , died September 26, 2015, at Maryknoll Sisters Center, Ossining, NY. She was 71 years old.

Born on January 5, 1944, in Wilkes-Barre, PA, to Chester and Elizabeth Kockel Galazin, eldest of three children.

A 1961 graduate of St. Vincent de Paul High School, Plymouth, PA, Sister Sandra earned a B.A. in English and History at Misericordia College, Dallas, PA, in 1965, then taught for three years at Woodbridge Junior High School, Woodbridge, NJ, before entering Maryknoll Sisters on September 7, 1968.

Her entrance occurred at a time when religious congregations were experiencing a reduction in membership and going through a period of renewal and adaptation to the modern world, yet Sister Sandra, inspired by the vision of Vatican II and the life of Martin Luther King, freely opted to join Maryknoll to live a vowed life in community in service to the mission of Jesus.

Sister Sandra received her mission assignment to the Diocese of Honolulu in Hawaii, where she would serve for most of her 47 years with Maryknoll, in 1969. Here, her attraction to Maryknoll in “working for peace and justice beyond cultural and national boundaries” was a lived reality.

After a year of teaching language arts in Maryknoll Grade School, Punahou, HI, Sister Sandra focused her ministry upon her commitment to action for peace and justice. Sensitive and thoughtful of other people’s needs, she began by working at Pastoral Counseling Service in Honolulu, where she was coordinator of a program of crisis intervention and personal counseling for residents of a low-income housing area of the city from 1970-1972.

She then joined the staff of Susannah Wesley Community Center, a comprehensive social services organization dedicated to helping and empowering, youth, adults and families who have great socio-economic challenges, move towards self-sufficiency and independence. There she coordinated the Hui Kokua, a program of skill building and leisure time activities for clients from 1973-1975.

Later in1975, Sister Sandra joined the staff of Catholic Social Services, where she was a case worker and coordinator for Operation Aloha, a program for resettlement of refugees from Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos until 1976 in the Diocese.

From 1977-1978, she worked for the Diocese of Honolulu as a consultant for Call to Action, diocesan hearing on social issues, as well as for Chaminade University of Honolulu, where she was a lecturer in the Theology Department and member of the campus ministry team.

From 1978-1985, Sister Sandra was privileged to work with the Hansen’s disease patients of Hawaii in their struggles for self determination and participation in living decisions that affect their lives. She staff the group of community supporters and people of good will in the Hale Mohalu Ohana (family), organized to join the Hansen’s Disease patients in their struggles via legislative advocacy and community organizing.

In 1980, she was named the Steering Committee Secretary for the Pacific Concerns Resource Center, a networking and action coordination Center for the Nuclear Free and Independent Pacific Movement in Honolulu and staff the Center re for the next five years.

In 1985, Sister Sandra returned to Maryknoll Sisters Center, where she served as director of Maryknoll Sisters’ Office for Social Concerns from 1985-1989 and manager of the Congregation’s Communications Office from 1989-1993. During that time, she was also part of the book committee coordinating the publishing of “Hearts on Fire”, the story of the Maryknoll Sisters by Penny Lernoux,

Since 1994, she returned to Hawaii, where she earned an M.S.W. at the University of Hawaii, Honolulu, in 1995. She then served for five years as the home visitor program coordinator for Hana Like Home, an organization which works to prevent the occurrence or reoccurrence of child abuse and neglect by strengthening families “at risk.”

During her last 12 years in Hawaii, Sister Sandra worked at Catholic Charities Hawaii, serving as program director of its Ka Malama ana I ka Punua program for families with infants at risk in the first five years of their lives. For the last three years, doing case management work and counseling outreach in parishes and the Diocese.  She returned to the Maryknoll Sisters Center in 2012, where she volunteered for a time with the Development Department, writing biographies of Maryknoll Sisters.

Sister Sandra is survived by her sister, Nancy Orlowski of Harrisburg, PA, and her brother, John Galazin, of Brooklyn, NY. Sister has donated her body to the New York Medical School.

A vespers service will be held for Sister Sandra on October 30^st, 2015 at 4:15 p.m. in the Chapel of the Annunciation at the Maryknoll Sisters Center at Maryknoll, NY. A memorial Mass will follow on October 31^st, 2015 at 11 a.m., also at the Center.

 

Sister Mary Louise Martin, Maryknoll Sister for 72 YearsMaryknoll, NY – Sister Mary Louise Martin, MM, a missioner, catechist and pastoral care worker in Mainland China and the British Colony of Hong Kong, died September, 25, 2015 at the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Ossining, NY. She was 89 years old.

Born on July 9, 1926, in St. Louis, MO, to Herbert C. and Elizabeth Linn Martin, Sister Mary Louise was one of five children born to the couple. She entered Maryknoll Sisters in 1943 from Nativity Parish, St. Louis, MO, shortly after graduating from St. Mark’s High School, St. Louis. She was given the religious name Sister Regina Marie, made her First Vows on March 7, 1946, at the Motherhouse and her Final Vows in China on March 7, 1949.

A graduate of Mary Rogers College, Maryknoll, NY, with a BA in community development and Mundelein College, Chicago, IL, with an MA in religious studies, Sister Mary Louise’s first assignment was to China where, following language study in Wu Chow, (Wuzhou ) she was involved in catechetical work. Expelled from China in 1951 by the new Communist regime, along with all other foreign missionaries, Sister Mary Louise came to Hong Kong. There she continued her catechetical and pastoral work  in Kowloontong,  at St. Theresa’s Parish and in the Social Service Center at King’s park in  Homantin,  from 1951-1971. She also worked at the Diocesan Catechetical Centre in Hong Kong from 1967-71.

Following the completion of her studies at Rogers and Mundelein Colleges, Sister Mary Louise returned to Hong Kong and to her catechetical work and at the Diocesan Catechetical Center. In 1982, Sister was recalled to the Maryknoll Center in New York. There she was appointed Director of the Maryknoll Mission Institute where she served until 1986. It was before completing this mandate that Bishop Wu, Bishop of Hong Kong, invited her to be part of a sensitive project he was setting up that would consist of three directors: a priest, a layman and a Sister. The project aimed at helping the Catholics in Hong Kong to be more ready for the political changeover of Hong Kong to the sovereignty of Communist China in 1997. He had chosen her from among all the women religious in Hong Kong for this work.  Upon her return to Hong Kong in 1986, she became a one of the directors of the Catholic Institute for Religion and Society, where she served until 2004. She then returned to the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Maryknoll, NY, where she became part of the Chi-Rho residential community. She was assigned to the Eden Community at Maryknoll Sisters Center in 2009, where she was an active member until her death.

Sister Mary Louise is survived by her sister, Catherine Fogarty of Houston, TX, and her brother, Robert Martin of Omaha, NE.

A vespers service will be held for Sister Mary Louise on Wednesday, September 30, 2015 at 4:15 p.m. in the main chapel at Maryknoll Sisters Center. A Mass of Christian Burial will follow in the same location on October 1, 2015 at 11:00 a.m.   Burial will be in the Maryknoll Sisters Cemetery on the Center grounds.

Sister Maria Rosa Nakayama, MM,
Award-Winning Educator and School Administrator, Dies at 88

Maryknoll, NY — Sister Maria Rosa Nakayama, MM, an award-winning educator and school administrator who served as a Maryknoll Sister in Japan for 52 years, died September 15, 2015, at Maryknoll Sisters Center, Ossining, NY. She was 88 years old.

Born on February 20, 1927, in Tokyo, Japan, to Joseph Hisakichi Soma and Maria Ko Nakayama, Sister Maria Rosa, whose baptismal name was Rosemary Aiko Nakayama, was one of four children, two boys and two girls, born to the couple.

A 1944 graduate of Tamagawa Gakuen Girls High School, Tokyo, Sister Maria Rosa also attended the Academy of the Sacred Heart in Tokyo from 1939-1942.  She also received an R.N. from St. Luke’s College of Nursing, Tokyo, in 1948, followed by graduate work at St. Luke’s in 1948-1949, as well as at Catholic University, Washington, DC and the University of Maryland, Baltimore, also in 1949.

Sister Maria Rosa entered Maryknoll on September 1, 1952 from St. Ignatius Parish, Tokyo, made her First Vows on March 7, 1955, at the Maryknoll Sisters Motherhouse, Ossining, NY, and her Final Vows on March 7, 1961, in Japan.

Sister Maria Rosa credited her sister, Hisako Nakayama, with bringing the Catholic faith to the family, Sister Maria Rosa herself being baptized when she was 11 years old. She came to know Maryknoll while studying at the University of Maryland when friends invited her to accompany them on a visit there.  “When I saw two novices kneeling in chapel in adoration,” she later recalled, “I felt God’s call to Maryknoll.”

Following her First Vows in 1955, Sister Maria Rosa was sent back to Japan, where she did art work and pastoral ministry in Kyoto, Ise and Sai-in for six years, then began her work as an educator, school principal and administrator in Yokkaichi, where she would serve for the next 44 years.  Her work, which would also include serving as chairman of the School Board of Directors, collaboration with the Catholic School Association and attending meetings of the City Social Education and Mayor’s Commission, would be recognized publically on November 14, 2003, when Japan’s Ministry of Education and Science gave her an award for “distinguished service in the promotion of community-based education.”

Sister Maria Rosa’s final five years in Japan were spent ministering to the sick and elderly at three care centers in Yokkaichi.  She returned to the Maryknoll Sisters Center in 2008, where she lived until her death.

Sister Maria Rosa is survived by her sister, Hisako Nakayama, of Tokyo, and her nieces, Haruo Hatakeyama of Tokyo and Ruriko Imamusa of Kamagawa-Ken, Japan.

A vespers service will be held for Sister Maria Rosa on Monday, September 21, 2015 at 4:15 p.m. in the Chapel of the Annunciation at the Maryknoll Sisters Center at Maryknoll, NY.  .  A memorial Mass will follow on Tuesday, September 22, 2015, at 11 a.m., also at the Center. Sister Maria Rosa donated her body to science.