Sister Edna Cooke, O.P., a member of the Sisters of St. Dominic, Amityville, for 77 years, died Nov. 17. She was 96.
Raised in Blessed Virgin Mary Help of Christians parish, Woodside, she attended the Dominican Juniorate in Water Mill, L.I. She entered the congregation in 1935.
When she was invested with her habit, she received her religious name, Sister Mary Brendan. She pronounced her first vows on Aug. 18, 1936. She studied music at Manhattanville and Queens Colleges. 
She taught at St. Joseph School, Astoria, 1936-61; Dominican Commercial H.S., Jamaica, 1961-65; St. Agnes Cathedral H.S., Rockville Centre, 1965-68; and St. Agnes Academic H.S., College Point, 1968-71. 
From 1973 to 2006, she taught music at St. Francis Cabrini, Bath Beach; Our Lady of Solace, Coney Island; Annunciation, Williamsburg; American Martyrs, Bayside; Christ the King, Springfield Gardens; St. Margaret’s, Middle Village; Our Lady of Hope, Middle Village; St. Bartholomew, Elmhurst; Incarnation, Queens Village; and Notre Dame, New Hyde Park, L.I. Beside regular music lessons in the classroom, she was involved with school bands, orchestras, choirs and glee clubs. 
She is predeceased by her sister, Sister Regina Cooke, O.P., who died in 2003.
A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated in St. Albert Chapel, Amityville, Nov. 21. Interment in the Sisters’ Cemetery followed.

Sister Kathleen Thomas Steadman, O.P., a member of the Sisters of St. Dominic, Amityville, for 56 years, died Nov. 11. She was 74.
Born in Jackson Heights as Marguerite, she entered the congregation from her home parish of St. Frances de Chantal in Wantagh, L.I., in 1956. She was invested and received her religious name the following year. She made her first profession of vows on Aug. 7, 1958.
She taught at St. Joseph’s School, Astoria, 1958-61; St. Margaret, Middle Village, 1961-63, St. Barbara’s, Bushwick, 1963-70; St. Thomas the Apostle, Woodhaven, 1970-72; and Most Holy Trinity, Williamsburg, 1972-77, before becoming involved in parish ministry at St. Sebastian, Woodside.
She resided in Corpus Christi, Woodside, 1972-74, and then St. Francis of Assisi Convent, Astoria, 1974-84.
She served as director of religious education in St. Michael’s, Flushing, 1980-95, and was part of Damascus Community in Middle Village, 1988-89. 
For several years, she ministered in Incarnation parish, Queens Village, and studied in Weston School of Theology in Massachusetts. In 1999, she was appointed as the congregation’s vocation director, a post she held until 2003. She also was parish receptionist at Sacred Heart, North Merrick, L.I., 2003-07.
In 2011, she retired, and failing health necessitated a move to the motherhouse. She is survived by her brother Martin of Garden City, L.I.
A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated in St. Albert Chapel, Amityville, Nov. 15. Burial in the Sisters’ Cemetery followed.

Sister Maria Victoria Aldea, O.P., 82, a member of the Sisters of St. Dominic, Amityville, for 60 years, died Oct. 18.
Born in Caguas, Puerto Rico as Maria Eulalia, she dropped out of school and cared for her seven younger siblings when their mother died. She became acquainted with the Dominican Sisters in Puerto Rico and entered the congregation from the Cathedral of San Juan, Caguas, in 1952.
On Aug. 4, 1953, she received the habit of St. Dominic and her religious name. One year later, on Aug. 7, 1954, she pronounced her religious vows.
She ministered both in the U.S. and in Puerto Rico. She did domestic work in the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception, Huntington, 1954-55, and in Cathedral College, Brooklyn, 1955-59. Upon returning to Puerto Rico, she was stationed in Convento Santo Tomas, San Juan, 1959-62; Convento N.S. del Rosario, Vega Baja, 1962-67; Convento Santa Rosa, Bayamon, 1972-82; and Convento Santo Vincenzo Ferrer, Catano, 1981-86.
In 1986, she returned to serve as domestic assistant at the motherhouse in Amityville until 1999 when she retired.
Sister Maria Victoria was also an artist. Her depictions of San Juan are displayed in the congregation’s Heritage Center.
She is survived by four sisters, Georgina and Rafaela of Puerto Rico, Lydia of Alabama and Carmen of Yonkers, and two brothers, Carlos of Puerto Rico and Ernesto of Texas.
A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated in St. Albert Chapel, Amityville, Oct. 22. Interment in the Sisters’ Cemetery followed.

Sister Mary Aquinas Messer, O.P., a member of the Sisters of St. Dominic, Amityville, for 79 years, died Dec. 5. She was 98.
Born in Brooklyn, she grew up in Maryland and entered the congregation from Ascension parish, Halethorpe, Md., in 1933. She received the habit with her religious name the following year. On Aug. 26, 1935, she pronounced her religious vows.
She taught at 14 Holy Martyrs, Bushwick, 1935-37; St. Pancras, Glendale, 1937-42; Our Lady of Sorrows, Lower East Side, 1942-45; B.V.M. Help of Christians, Woodside, 1945-48; Dominican Commercial H.S., Jamaica, 1948-68.
In the evenings, she volunteered at the ESL Program at St. Pius V, Jamaica. She served at St. Agnes H.S., Rockville Centre, 1968-71, and then returned to Dominican Commercial, 1971-95, where she began her career as a guidance counselor. 
She retired from the formal school setting in 1995 but continued as a volunteer through 1998.  Failing health necessitated a move to Carlin Hall in 2004.
She is survived by relatives in Maryland as well as her nephew, Father Terry Messer of Newark, N.J. 
A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated in St. Albert Chapel, Amityville, Dec. 7. Interment in the Sisters’ Cemetery followed.

Sister Clare Marie O’Keeffe, O.P., formerly Sister Maureen Daniel, a member of the Sisters of St. Dominic, Amityville, for 60 years, died Dec. 5. She was 81.
She entered the congregation from St. Matthias, Ridgewood, in 1952 and received the habit and her religious name the following year. She pronounced religious vows on Aug. 7, 1954. 

She earned degrees in management from St. Francis College, Brooklyn Heights; theology from Manhattan College, Manhattan; and counseling/mental health from Long Island University’s C.W. Post.
From 1954 to 1962, she taught at Corpus Christi, Mineola, L.I.; Blessed Virgin Mary Help of Christians, Woodside; St. Nicholas, Williamsburg; and St. Patrick, Bay Ridge.
She devoted the next 45 years of her life to St. Patrick parish, Huntington, L.I., where she taught in the school, 1967-69, and then served as religious education director, 1969-96. She continued to minister in parish services from 1996 to the present. She worked with the senior citizens group, taught adult education, was an alcoholism counselor, a member of the board of directors of Melville House for Boys, the Huntington Town Consumer Protection Board and the board of the Huntington Community School. 
In 1990, she was honored as Grand Marshal of the Huntington St. Patrick’s Parade, becoming the first religious sister and the second female in the parade’s 58-year history.
A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Dec. 11. Interment followed in the Sisters’ Cemetery, Amityville.

Sister Sheila Hughes, O.P., a member of the Sisters of St. Dominic, Amityville, for 76 years, died Oct. 22. She was 94.
Born as Margaret, she became acquainted with the Dominican Sisters at St. Luke School in Whitestone. She entered the congregation on Sept. 8, 1936. The following year, she received the habit and her religious name. On Aug. 20, 1938, she pronounced her religious vows.
She ministered as an elementary school teacher for almost 30 years. She taught at St. Michael, East New York, 1938-40; Holy Family, Park Slope, 1940-44; St. Bartholomew, Elmhurst, 1944-55; Notre Dame, New Hyde Park; L.I.; and Cure of Ars, Merrick, L.I.
She was principal and superior of Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, Roosevelt, L.I., 1959-65; superior at Queen of the Rosary Motherhouse, Amityville, 1967-70; and a teacher of English at St. Agnes Academic H.S., College Point, 1970-81; St. Patrick, Huntington, 1981-82, and St. Hugh, Huntington Station, L.I., 1982-83. She retired in 1983.
In 1984, she moved to St. Rose Convent, Massapequa, L.I., and volunteered in pastoral service until 2005. She moved to Cabrini Residence, where she stayed until 2007, when she moved to Carlin Hall.
Sister Sheila was part of a pioneer group at Harbor of Grace Convent, College Point, to experiment with a new style of community living.
She is survived by her sister, Joan Lombard of Florida.
A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated in St. Albert Chapel, Amityville, Oct. 25. Interment in the Sisters’ Cemetery followed.