Sister Marnette Bamberger, O.P., a member of the Sisters of St. Dominic of Amityville for 73 years, died on Jan. 2. She was 91.
Sister Marnette was born on Sept. 20, 1929, in Glendale, and attended St. Pancras School, and the Juniorate in Water Mill.
She entered the novitiate two weeks before her 18th birthday and on Aug. 4, 1948, she received the habit and her religious name.
Sister Marnette’s first assignment was as a first-grade teacher at Good Shepherd in Marine Park.
After 11 years of teaching in Brooklyn, she was transferred to Queen of the Rosary Academy in Amityville where she taught math and science for 16 years.
Sister Marnette’s next place of ministry was Christ the King in Commack, 1976-2012.
A funeral Mass was celebrated on Jan. 6, followed by interment in the sisters’ cemetery in Amityville.
Sister Edyth Therese Fitzsimmons, C.S.J., formerly Sister Mary Anella, a member of the Sisters of St. Joseph for 71 years, died on Nov. 30.
She entered the congregation on Sept. 8, 1949, from her home parish of St. Mark, Sheepshead Bay.
She received a BS degree in Education from St. Joseph College and St. John’s University followed by an MA in English from St. Bonaventure University. She also received a certification in Administration from Plattsburg State University.
She worked in CCD from 1953-2012 in the parishes where she was assigned. In summers from 1976-1977, she participated in the Associates’ Arts Program-Marymount Program in connection with Catholic Charities, Brooklyn. From 2011-2017 she served in the Brooklyn Diocese’s Council of Religious.
Her ministries included: St. Benedict Joseph Labre, Richmond Hill (1951-58); St. Cecilia’s, Greenpoint (1958-61); Bishop McDonnell HS, Ft. Greene (1961-66); St. Agnes Seminary HS, Flatbush/Madison Gardens (1966-72); asst. principal of Our Lady of Perpetual Help HS, Sunset Park (1972-77), followed by principalship (1977-85) Bishop Kearney HS, Bensonhurst (1985-87); principal of Sacred Heart Academy HS, Hempstead (1987-1999); Bishop Kearney HS, Bensonhurst (1999-2007).
Her wake and Mass of Christian Burial took place in Sacred Heart Chapel, Brentwood, on Dec. 7, followed by her interment in Calvary Cemetery.
Sister Jean Albert Fry, O.P., a member of the Sisters of St. Dominic for 64 years, died on Jan. 27, after a brief illness. She was 82.
She was born on June 1, 1938. She was baptized Ann in St. Stanislaus Martyr Church, Greenpoint. The family moved to St. Albans when Ann was young. After a few years, they moved to Valley Stream, and she was enrolled in Holy Name of Mary School. After graduation from Holy Name, she went to Bishop McDonnell High School, Ft. Greene.
On Sept. 8, 1956, she entered the congregation and a year later she was invested and received the name Sister Jean Albert. She was professed a year later on Aug.7, 1958.
Sister Jean Albert’s first assignment was Cure of Ars in Merrick. She was one of the pioneer sisters in Corpus Christi School in Woodside. Her third assignment was to St. Frances Cabrini School in Bensonhurst.
In addition to teaching, she attended St. John’s University where she earned a BS in Education. She received an MS in Elementary Education from the College of Staten Island-CUNY.
In 1977, she went to Our Lady of Guadalupe where she was Co-principal with Sister Lora Bannon for 30 years.
Upon retiring in 2007, she volunteered at a soup kitchen and a veterans hospital in Bay Ridge.
A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Feb. 3, followed by burial in the Sisters’ Cemetery in Amityville.
Sister Jane Ann Houlihan, S.C., formerly Sister Paul Christine, a Sister of Charity-Halifax for 69 years, died on Jan. 24, at Mount Saint Vincent, Wellesley, MA. She was 87.
Sister Jane Ann was missioned at Our Lady of the Cenacle, Richmond Hill, from 1954-58 as a Grade 2, 3, and 4 teacher. She also ministered outside the Diocese of Brooklyn in St. Aidan School, Williston Park, NY, from 1958-66 and later on in Massachusetts. She retired in 2006 and resided at Mount Saint Vincent, Wellesley Hills, until her death.
A funeral Mass and burial were held on Jan. 29 at St. John the Evangelist Parish, Wellesley Hills, MA. Interment was at Saint Mary Cemetery, Needham, MA.
Sister Therese Monaghan, O.P., a sister of St. Dominic for 67 years, died on Jan. 13. She was 89.
Therese entered the Amityville Dominicans from the parish of St. Joan of Arc in Jackson Heights on Sept. 12, 1954. She received the habit and her religious name on Aug. 4, 1955. On Aug. 8, 1956, she pronounced her religious vows.
Sister Therese started her teaching ministry on the elementary school level (St. Francis de Chantal, Brooklyn 1956-58) and secondary level (Queen of the Rosary Academy 1958-60). She then taught at Molloy College, Rockville Centre from 1960-80. During that time she also was part of the faculty who educated postulants, novices, and junior professors at St. Albert College in Amityville.
In 1988 she studied Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) at St. Vincent’s Medical Center, New York. She ministered as a chaplain in New York Hospital and St. Vincent’s Hospital, both in New York City, and Mercy Hospital in Port Jervis, NJ.
A funeral Mass was celebrated in the Motherhouse chapel, followed by interment in the Sister’s Cemetery, Amityville.
Sister Marguerite Nenninger, O.P., a member of the Sisters of St. Dominic of Amityville for 60 years, died on Jan 24. She was 82.
Marge was one of two children of Albert and Lina Nenninger, both natives of France. At the time of her entrance, the family lived in the parish of Sacred Heart in East Glendale. She entered the Amityville Dominicans on Sept. 11, 1960, and received the habit and her religious name, Sister Marie Albert, on Aug. 5, 1961. On Aug. 8, 1962, she pronounced her religious vows.
Throughout her ministry, she served in elementary schools. From 1962 to 1972, she taught at St. Catherine of Sienna in Franklin Square, Our Lady of Solace, Coney Island, and Sacred Heart, East Glendale. From 1972 to 1975, she served in Christ the King in Springfield Gardens.
Later, while pursuing an MS in Education and state certification as a school psychologist, she worked part-time at the Day Care Center in St. Pius School, Jamaica. After a two-year stay with the Diocesan Diagnostic Learning Center as the Psychoeducational Coordinator, she spent the next 15 years as a school psychologist at Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament School in Bayside. Sister Marge went on to attend Bank Street College for certification as a special education teacher. For the next eight years, she provided resource room assistance to the students of St. Benedict Joseph Labre School in Richmond Hill, St. Robert Bellarmine in Bayside, and St. Clare in Rosedale.
A private Mass of Christian Burial took place on Jan. 27, 2021, in the Motherhouse chapel, followed by interment in the Sisters’ Cemetery.
Sister Jean Peter Olsen, O.P., a member of the Sisters of St. Dominic for 63 years, died on Dec. 19. She was 84.
Born in Mineola, Long Island, on Nov. 23, 1936, she entered the Novitiate at Queen of the Rosary Motherhouse, Amityville, New York, on Sept. 8, 1956, from St. Aidan’s Parish.
On August 5, 1957, she was received as novice, invested with the Dominican habit, and given her religious name (Sister Jean Peter). On Aug. 7, 1958, she pronounced First Vows. This commitment was finalized on Aug. 7, 1961.
Sister Jean taught in elementary education from 1958-85 in parish schools of the Dioceses of Brooklyn and Rockville Centre. She earned a BA in Social Studies at St. Francis College, Brooklyn; MA in Secondary Education at Richmond College in Staten Island and a Masters in Counseling and Personnel Service at Fordham University.
Sister Jean began a new phase of ministry in 1985 in Social Work with Catholic Charities, Brooklyn. From 1987-2004 she served at Brooklyn Family Court as Director of Social Service with Victim Service Agency and Safe-Horizons.
In May 2004, she began to work with Fr. Frank Pizzarelli at Hope House Ministry in service to recovering young men. She continued her devoted service at Hope House up to her final days.
A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Dec. 23 in the Motherhouse chapel, followed by burial in the Sisters’ Cemetery.
Sister Mary Sheehan, I.H.M., a member of the Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, died on Jan. 22, at Our Lady of Peace Residence in Scranton. She was 82.
She was born on July 13, 1938, in Clover, PA. Sister Mary entered the IHM Congregation on Feb. 2, 1957, and made her temporary profession of vows on Aug. 4, 1959, and her final profession of vows on Aug.15, 1964.
She received a Bachelor of Science degree in science and a Master of Science degree in religious studies from Marywood College and a Master of Education degree from Virginia State University.
Sister Mary served as a teacher in the following schools: Cathedral Elementary School in Scranton, PA, 1959-60; St. Paul Elementary School in Scranton, PA, 1960-62; Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Elementary School, Forest Hills, NY, 1962-65; St. Joseph Elementary School in Renovo, PA, 1965-67; St. Leo High School in Ashley, PA, 1967-68; St. Mary High School in Manhasset, NY, 1968-73; Notre Dame High School in East Stroudsburg, PA, 1973-74; Bishop Neumann High School in Williamsport, PA, 1974-75; St. Rose High School in Carbondale, PA, 1975-79; and Maria Regina Diocesan High School in Uniondale, NY, 1980-84.
She also served as coordinator for religious education at St. Patrick’s Parish in Milford, PA, 1979-80; chaplain and director of pastoral care at Mary Immaculate Hospital and Fitzpatrick Nursing Home in Jamaica, NY, from 1984-91; Catholic chaplain at Butler Memorial Hospital and Sunnyview Nursing Home in Butler, PA, 1991-99; coordinator for pastoral care and social ministries at Marydale Retirement Village in Newark, DE, 2000-07; coordinator of caring ministry at St. Joseph’s Parish in York, PA, 2007-09; support services at the IHM Center in Scranton, PA, 2009-15; and volunteer in Heartworks Gift Boutique at Our Lady of Peace Residence in Scranton, PA, from 2009-15.
From 2015 until the time of her death, Sister Mary served as a prayer minister at Our Lady of Peace Residence in Scranton.
Burial was at St. Catherine’s Cemetery in Moscow, PA.
Sister Annette Marie Sledzaus, O.P., a Dominican sister for 88 years, died on Dec. 12. She was 103.
She was born on June 8, 1917, in a family of Lithuanian immigrants in Brooklyn. She and her siblings, Alexander, Frank, and Mildred were raised in Annunciation Parish, Williamsburg.
In 1932, at the young age of 15, Helen was accepted as a postulant in the Motherhouse in Amityville. On August 17, 1933, she was clothed in the Dominican habit and received her religious name, Sister Annette Marie. She pronounced her vows on August 25, 1934.
Annette’s ministry in elementary education began at St. Catherine of Siena School in St. Albans and continued for more than a half-century at Presentation, Jamaica; St. Pius, Jamaica; Incarnation, Queens Village; Cure of Ars, Merrick; Our Lady of Hope, Middle Village; St. Catherine of Sienna, Franklin Square; Notre Dame, New Hyde Park, and Holy Spirit, New Hyde Park. In 1987, she became school librarian at St. Pius X in Plainview and later assumed the role of audiovisual specialist at Notre Dame in New Hyde Park. It was at Holy Spirit that she opened a program to provide reading and math tutoring for primary grade children.
Sister Annette was an excellent cook and specialized in kielbasa and delicious homemade potato pancakes. She was also an exceptional seamstress; in addition to making clothing, she made vestments for priests.
She was predeceased by her parents, her sister Mildred, and her brothers Frank and Father Alexander Sledzaus.
A private funeral Mass took place at the Motherhouse on Dec. 15, followed by burial in the Sisters’ Cemetery.
