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.

Brooklyn-Born Sister Julia Hannigan,
Missioner to China with Martyred Bishop,
Dies at 99

Maryknoll, NY — Sister Julia Hannigan, MM, a missioner to China, died August 15, 2015.  She was 99 years old, and just six and a half weeks shy of her 100^th birthday.

Born September 30, 1915 in Brooklyn, NY, to John A. and Julia McCleary Hannigan. Christened Julia Regina Hannigan, Sister Julia was one of five children, three daughters and two sons, born to the couple.  All members of her immediate family have pre-deceased her.

Sister Julia joined Maryknoll Sisters on December 8, 1933, with a passion to minister in China, a calling she fulfilled through work in teaching, catechetics and counseling in Tung Shek, Hingning, and Kaying, South China.

Following her final vows on June 30, 1939, Sister Julia was first sent to China, where, following a year of language study, she worked in direct evangelization in Hingning from 1941-1946 and Kaying City, from 1948-1951. Placed under house arrest in 1950, and taken with other Maryknollers including martyr Bishop Francis Xavier Ford to a Canton prison in 1951, Sister Julia was deported by the Communist regime to Hong Kong. Three months later, in September 1951, she went the island of Mauritius, off the African coast, having been requested to help in the evangelization of the Hakka Chinese flocking there to escape the Communist regime.

Sister Julia then did promotion work at the motherhouse in Ossining NY, from 1952-55, was engaged  in catechetical and parish work in Walterboro, SC, in 1955, then in visiting patients and instructing catechumens at Queen of the World Hospital, Kansas City, MO, from 1956-58.

Returning to Hong Kong in 1964, Sister Julia worked in parish ministry for the Catholic Welfare Center teaching religion to refugees at the Hong Kong Refugee School until 1971. She then taught CCD classes at a government school in Kowloon, where she also organized a children’s recreation center, serving at both from 1971-74.

In 1974, Sister Julia returned to the United States, where she worked with refugees and taught English as a second language in Boston, MA, New York City and Monrovia, CA, from 1975-81. She then worked in a Chinese church and school in Philadelphia, PA from 1984-85.

She returned to the Maryknoll Sisters Center at the end of 1985, where she assisted in the house pharmacy, with clothing detail, and in the Sisters’ International Gift Shop, which she managed in 1986. She has been part of the Chi Ro Community at the Center since then.

Sister Julia is survived by her nieces, Mary Staab of Howard Beach, NY, and Julia Wachter and Ann Wagner of Glendale, NY; a nephew, John McShane of Howard Beach, NY; as well as several cousins and other family members including James Kearney of Bronxville, NY; John T. Kearney of Vienna, VA; Kevin Kearney of Belle Harbor, NY;  and Mr. and Mrs. Vincent Ridge of Brooklyn, NY.

A vespers service will be held for Sister Julia on Thursday, August 20, 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 Friday, August 21, 2015, at 11 a.m., also at the Center.  Interment will be in Maryknoll Sisters Cemetery on the Maryknoll Sisters Center grounds.

Sister Bernice Babin, MM,
Nurse at Queen of the World Hospital, Kansas City and in Central and South America,
Dies at 99

Maryknoll, NY — Sister Bernice Florence Babin, MM, a nurse who served at one of the first racially integrated hospitals in the United States, as well as in several South American countries, died August 9, 2015, at Maryknoll Sisters Center, Ossining, NY.  She was 99 years old.

Born on August 5, 1916, in Plaisted, ME, to Joseph and Eulalia Labbe Babin, Sister  Bernice graduated from Our Lady of Wisdom Academy, St. Agatha, ME, then worked for several years as a bookkeeper and stenographer before entering Maryknoll Sisters from St. Lucy’s Parish, Frenchville, ME, on August 5, 1941, at their motherhouse in Ossining.

Following formation, she made her First Vows on March 7, 1944, receiving the religious name, Sister Rose Claire.  Following completion of studies in catechetics and religious education at Maryknoll Teachers College, Ossining, NY, in 1945, Sister Bernice was sent to Bolivia, where she worked at a clinic in Riberalta from 1946-1953.  She then worked with Mexicans in Houston, TX, the bulk of whom attended St. Patrick’s and St. Stephen’s Parishes in the city,  where her catechetical studies formed the basis for her ministry to these oft-migrating parishioners until 1956.

Sister Bernice was then sent to Queen of the World Hospital, one of the first interracial hospitals in the United States, located in Kansas City, MO.  There she completed studies in licensed practical nursing, serving at the hospital until 1957.  That year, she returned to the Maryknoll Sisters Center, where she worked with elderly and infirm members of her congregation at Bethany House, Ossining, NY, until 1959.

Sister Bernice was then sent to Chicago, IL, where she worked with the Puerto Rican community until 1965, when she was sent to Guatemala, working in Guatemala City in 1965 and Huehuetenango from 1966-1967.

In 1968, her major work began, when she was sent to Chile.  There she worked in local parishes in Licanten, then Rauco, doing pastoral work, ministering in women’s groups and Christian formation, as well as with parish deacons and their families.

She returned to the Maryknoll Sisters Center in 2007, where she lived in retirement, engaged in assisting various offices at the Maryknoll Sisters Center, as well as serving in active prayer for the mission sites where she served. Sister Bernice donated her body to the New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY, as a final act of service.

Sister Bernice is survived by two sisters, Mrs. Rita McGary of Reno, NV, and Mrs. Irene Meissner of Reston, VA.

A vespers service will be held for Sister Bernice on Wednesday, August 12 , 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 Thursday, August 16, 2015, at 11 a.m., also at the Center.

Sister Eileen Brady
Host of Archdiocesan Program “Let’s Talk About God,”
Dies at 80

Maryknoll, NY — Sister Eileen Brady, MM, one of two Maryknoll Sisters who hosted the Archdiocese of New York television program, “Let’s Talk About God” in the early 1960s on NBC, died August 2, 2015, at Phelps Hospital, Ossining, NY.  She was 80 years old.

An educator and social worker who served in both the United States and Southeast Asia, Sister Eileen was born in New York City on May 12, 1935, to John and Jule Mona Brady.  She entered Maryknoll on September 2, 1957, from St. John the Baptist Parish, Yonkers, NY, one year after graduating from Marymount College, New York, NY with a B.S. in chemistry. She received the religious name Sister Maureen John, by which she was known on the TV program, making her first vows on June 24, 1960, at Maryknoll, NY, and her final vows on June 24, 1966, in the Philippines.

Sister Eileen’s first assignment was as a member of the faculty at Maryknoll Teachers College, where she taught from 1960-1963, working on “Let’s Talk About God,” a puppet program for children, on weekends.  Then, following completion of an M.S. in Science at St. Louis University in Missouri, she was sent to the Philippines, where she taught at Maryknoll College, Quezon City, from 1963-1969.

Sister Eileen then returned to the United States, where she was enrolled at Fordham University, Bronx, NY, beginning in 1970, earning a master’s degree in social work in 1972.

She then served as Treatment Supervisor at The Children’s Village, Dobbs Ferry, NY, a residential treatment center for troubled boys, age 6 to 13, as well as working in marital and family therapist, with special certification in human sexuality training, from 1972-1996.

Sister Eileen then worked as a child and family therapist at Hallen Center for Education in New Rochelle, NY, from 1996-2000, before being sent to serve on the island nation of East Timor in 2001.

On East Timor, Sister Eileen worked with children and families who were struggling, following the hard-won independence of their nation. She offered Capacitar Training, which teaches holistic health practices, a program supported by a Timorese non-governmental organization.  Special seminars followed for leaders, forming “Trainers of Trainers,” who were to spread the message of trauma relief and wellness to others.

Sister Eileen, who returned to the Maryknoll Sisters Center in 2013, is survived by several cousins, including Anita and Bob Arnold, Peekskill, NY; Marilyn and Frank Arnold, Valley Stream, NY; Linda and Bill Denninger, Hauppauge, NY; and Helen Wells, Corona del Mar, CA.

A vespers service will be held for Sister Eileen on August 6, 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 August 7, 2015, at 11 a.m., also at the Center. Interment will be in the Maryknoll Sisters Cemetery on the Center grounds.

Sister Agnes O’Keeffe,
Nurse and Administrator in Tanzania, Guatemala and the United States,
Dies at 90

Maryknoll, NY —  Sister Agnes O’Keeffe, MM, nurse and administrator in Tanzania, Guatemala and the United States, died July 18, 2015, at the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Ossining, NY.  She was 90 years old.

Born in the St. Boniface district of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, on August 12, 1924, to John Michael and Lucy Chatfield O’Keeffe, Sister Agnes entered Maryknoll on September 2, 1956, at its motherhouse in Ossining, NY, from Holy Cross Parish, Winnipeg, following graduation from St. Boniface Hospital School of Nursing.  She made her First Profession of Vows on June 24, 1959, at the motherhouse, and her Final Vows on June 24, 1965, in Guatemala.

Sister Agnes’ first assignment was working as a general staff nurse at Bethany House, a residence for elderly and infirm Maryknoll Sisters, located in Ossining, NY.

She received her first foreign assignment in 1960, when she was sent to Guatemala.  Following six months of language studies, she worked in a rural dispensary, then organized a health clinic for residents of San Miguel, Acatan, Huehuetenango, where she served until 1968.

Sister Agnes then returning to Ossining, where she again worked as a nurse at Bethany House for one year, then as assistant to Maryknoll Center Unit’s infirmary director until 1973.  She also work from 1969-1970 as a pediatric staff nurse at Bronxville Memorial Hospital, Bronxville, NY.

In 1973, Sister Agnes was sent to Tanzania where she served as administrator of a clinic in Bwirigi, a town in the Musoma Diocese.  Her primary work was training local health workers in preventing diseases, maternal child care and therapeutic medicine.

Sister Agnes then returned to the United States, where she worked in the Maryknoll Sisters Nursing home from 1989-1993. She then went back to Tanzania, where she served as medical supervisor for 300 boarding students at Kowak Girls Secondary School until 1997. She then returned to Maryknoll, where she was in residence until her death.

Sister Agnes is survived by her sister, Mrs. Anne Seigfreid of Green Bay, WI; her nieces, Karen Blahnik and Kathy Parker, of Green Bay. WI, and Patricia Goderis Saxton of Swan Lake, MB;  her nephews,  David Ronald O’Keeffe of Winnipeg, MB, Michael O’Keeffe of Winnipeg, MB, Ron Goderis of Minaki, ON, and Brian Seigfreid of Green Bay, WI, and numerous great nieces and nephews.

A vespers service was held for Sister Agnes on July 20, 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 followed on July 21, 2015,  also at the Center. Interment was in the Maryknoll Sisters Cemetery on the Center grounds.

Sister Agnes Patricia Boland, MM,
Missioner to Panama, Mexico and the Eastern United States
Dies at 86

Maryknoll, NY — Maryknoll Sister Agnes Patricia Boland, a missioner to Panama, Mexico and the Eastern United States, died June 17, 2015, at the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Ossining, NY. She was 86 years old.

Born on February 19, 1929, in White Plains, NY, to Patrick James and Mary Agnes McGuinn Boland, Sister Pat, as she was more commonly known, grew up in Brooklyn, NY, graduating from St. Rose of Lima School, Brooklyn, in 1943, and St. Brendan Diocesan High School, also in Brooklyn, in 1947.

She entered Maryknoll Sisters Congregation at the Venard, Scranton, PA, from St. Therese of Lisieux Parish, Brooklyn, on September 4, 1948, and was given the religious name Sister  M. Margaret Alacoque. She made her First Profession of Vows on March 7, 1951, and her Final Vows on March 7, 1954, both at the Motherhouse in Ossining, NY.

Following formation, Sister Pat enrolled at Maryknoll Teachers College, graduating with a bachelor’s in education in 1954.  She was then sent to Panama, where she taught Grades 1-7 at Colegio San Vincente, Ancon, Panama, from 1954-1958.

Toward the end of 1958, Sister Pat was sent to Mexico, where she served as assistant principal and English and math instructor at a high school in Merida, a town in the Yucatan, until 1961.

She then returned to Colegio San Vincente in Panama, teaching fifth grade for a few months until she was appointed religion coordinator for Santiago Junior High School, a position she held from 1962-1966.

Sister Pat then returned once more to Mexico, where she served as assistant principal, supervisor, teacher trainer and finally principal at an elementary school in Puebla from 1966-1971.

Later in 1971, Sister Pat returned to the United States, where she would serve for the rest of her years in active ministry.  Following completion of a master’s degree in education at St. John’s University, Jamaica, NY, in 1972, she served as a graduate student representative on the faculty council of the University’s School of Education, while completing studies for a professional diploma in educational administration and supervision at the school. She received that diploma in 1974.

Sister Pat then worked as a remedial reading teacher for troubled youth at Lincoln Hall, Lincolndale, NY, from 1974-1977. She then was sent to New Hampshire, where she again taught remedial reading, this time to disadvantaged youth, followed by teaching fourth grade in a local public school, from 1977-1980. In September 1980, she was appointed principal of the Main Street Public School, Exeter, NH, a position she held until 1984.

Sister Pat was then sent to Washington, DC where she worked as assistant director of Rachael’s Women’s Center, a day center for homeless women,  from 1984-1986.  Later in 1986, she moved to Albany, NY, where she worked as director of the U.S. Catholic Conference’s Refugee Resettlement Program until 1990, and taught English as a Second Language to homebound  Polish and Vietnamese women in the city. She then worked as a teacher in a public elementary school from 1990-1996.

Sister Pat also served as a pastoral volunteer at St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Albany, where she was active in the ecumenical  and interreligious affairs program, and helped spearhead an outreach program that birthed a sister parish relationship between St. Vincent’s and the Maryknoll Sisters’ work in Darien, Panama. Sister Pat was also very involved in justice and peace issues, serving in a variety of organizations and on the congregation’s Social Concerns Committee.

A vespers service wwasheld for Sister Pat on June 22, 2015 in the Chapel of the Annunciation at the Maryknoll Sisters Center at Maryknoll, NY.  A Mass of Christian Burial followed on June 23, 2015 in the same location. Interment was at the Maryknoll Sisters Cemetery on the Center grounds.

Sister Joan Cordis Westhues, MM,
Missioner-Educator to the Philippines, the Marshall Islands and Bangladesh,
Dies at 91

Maryknoll, NY —  Sister Joan Cordis Westhues, MM, missionary educator and community health worker in the Philippines, Bangladesh and the Marshall Islands for over 50 years, died Saturday, June 13, 2015, at the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Ossining, NY.  She was 91 years old and had been a Maryknoll Sister for 70 years.

Born on January 30, 1924 in Jefferson City, MO to Henry John Westhues and Helen Margaret  Roer Westhues, Sister Joan Cordis was baptized Marjorie Ann Westhues, attended Immaculate Conception High School and graduated from St. Peter’s Interparish High School, Jefferson City, in 1942. She entered Maryknoll at its motherhouse on September 6, 1944, from Immaculate Conception Parish in Jefferson City, MO. and made her final vows on March 7, 1950, at the Maryknoll Sisters’ motherhouse.  A 1965 graduate of the Asian Social Institute, Manila, Philippines, with an M.A. in socio-theological studies, she also held a B.S. in chemistry from Manhattanville College, Purchase, NY.

Sister Joan Cordis was first assigned to the Philippines, where she taught high school religion, English, math and science in Manila from 1951-1958. She was then sent to Yap in the Marshall Islands, where she taught grades 7-9 from 1958-1960.

In 1960, Sister Joan Cordis was appointed novice mistress of the Maryknoll Sisters Philippine Novitiate in Quezon City, a position she held for the next ten years.

Following a year working with the congregation’s retirement team in Valley Park, MO, Sister Joan Cordis was involved in catechetical education for the Diocese of Jefferson City, MO, then returned to the Philippines in 1972, where she taught theology and English in Lupon, Davao Oriental, from 1974-1976.

She then worked with the Community Extension Service Community-Based Health Program of Cotabato City, Philippines, from 1976-1977 and 1980-1981, during which time she also trained local health workers to use a microscope and setting up community laboratories in nine community-based health programs in the Kidapawan Prelature.

From 1981-1985, Sister Joan Cordis served as assistant coordinator of the Health and Development Program’s Mindanao Regional Office in Davao City, Philipppines.  She then worked for the same program, this time in District III, serving five parishes in the Ipil Prelature, Philippines, from 1985-1992.

In 1993, Sister Joan Cordis was called to Bangladesh, where she worked at the Center for Women with Addictions in Dhaka, opening BACHA (the Bangladesh Alternative Course for Human Advancement) Education for Life Center in 1995. In 1997 she began working with youth in Dhaka, as well.  Sister Joan Cordis also served as principal of BACHA English Medium School from 2001-2006. She returned from Bangladesh to the Maryknoll Sisters Center in 2013.

Sister Joan Cordis is survived by three of her sisters: Jane Schmidt of Phoenix, AZ, Marilyn Evans of St. Louis, MO, and Elaine Westhues of Mesa, AZ. Her sister Rosemary, Bebe and her one brother Msgr. John Westhues have predeceased her.

A vespers service was held June 14, 2015, at the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Ossining, NY. A Mass of Christian Burial followed on June 15, 2015, also at the Center. Interment was in the Maryknoll Sisters Cemetery on the Center grounds.

Sister Teresita Rellosa, MM,
Missioner to Her Native Philippines,
Dies at 82

Maryknoll, NY — Maryknoll Sister Teresita Marie Rellosa, a missioner to her native Philippines for over 50 years, died on June 12, 2015, in the Philippines on their Independence Day.

Born on April 21, 1933, in Pangil Laguna, Philippines, to Esteban and Norberta De Ramos Rellosa,  and christened Eleonora Rellosa, Sister Teresita entered Maryknoll on June 1, 1962, at the congregation’s Philippine Novitiate, in Quezon City, and spent most of her 53 years with Maryknoll Sisters in her home country.

She was first assigned to work in Maryknoll College’s regional offices in Manila, then Baguio City, where she served from 1965-1970.  Then, on February 14, 1971, she made her Final Vows in Cateel, Davao Oriental, preparing the whole liturgy and even composing the lyrics and music of the entrance hymn used that day, “With Joy Let Us Walk to Our God.

Following her Final Vows, Sister Teresita was sent to Maryknoll High School in Cateel, Davao, where she taught math and served as the school registrar through 1972. After a year studying at Centro Escolar University, Manila, where she earned a B.S. in education and math, Sister Teresita spent a few years (1974-1983) as a school teacher and administrator, as well as parish worker, in Upi Cotabato and Quezon City. She was then assigned to pastoral work in the rural communities of Buug and Zamboanga del Sur, where she served from 1983-1991.

After three years working in the Development Department and Information Services Office at Maryknoll Sisters Center in Ossining, NY, she returned to the Philippines, where she worked as Finance Officer for the Institute of Formation and Religious Studies in Quezon City from 1995-1997. She then became involved with community and advocacy work in Quezon City, where she served until 2014.

“Immersing ourselves deeper into the life of these people is a continuous experience of self-emptying and personal remolding which I believe is consistent with the spirit and example of Jesus,” Sister Teresita once said. “It is like removing our sandals to be able to enter into the ‘sacred ground.’ It is an ‘Incarnation’ experience for me.”

A Mass of Christian Burial was offered for Sister Teresita on June 15, 2015, at Miriam College, Quezon City, Philippines.  She was laid to rest in the Maryknoll Sisters Mausoleum at Miriam College.