Sister Mary Christine Conetta, O.P., who served as a Sister of St. Dominic for 76 years, died on Nov. 6. She was 94 years old.
Sister Mary was born on Dec. 11, 1929, to Antonio and Antonetta Socci Conetta, both immigrants from Italy. One of four children — two died at an early age — she was raised in a strong and faith-filled Italian family in St. Leo Parish, Corona, along with her brother, Ralph.
At Bishop McDonnell Memorial High School, she met and was inspired by the Dominican Sisters. On Sept. 8, 1948, she entered the Novitiate at Amityville as a postulant.
Clothed in the Dominican habit on Aug. 4, 1949, she was given her religious name, Sister Mary Christine. She pronounced her first vows on Aug. 5, 1950, and her final on Aug. 5, 1953. Sister Mary received the Diocesan Normal School Certificate and an associate in arts degree from St. John’s University, Jamaica.
In 1950, her long ministry in elementary education began at Sacred Heart, East Glendale, and continued for the next 18 years at St. Catherine of Sienna, St. Albans, and Annunciation, Brooklyn.
In 1968, she was assigned to Notre Dame, New Hyde Park, where she would remain for 50 years — first as an elementary school teacher and later as a clerical worker in the parish school and parish office.
After her retirement in 2010, she became a parish volunteer. For several years, she assisted the men and women of the St. Vincent de Paul Society with their outreach. It is safe to say most people in the New Hyde Park community knew Sister Mary — in school, parish life, and the neighborhood.
In 2018, as her health declined, she moved to Carlin Hall in the Motherhouse in Amityville. Her brother, Ralph, remained very faithful to Sister Mary throughout her life, especially during her time in Carlin Hall, where his wife, Vilma, is a long-time nurse’s aide.
Sister Mary was predeceased by her parents, her sister, Raffaele, and her brother, Anthony. She is survived by her brother, Ralph, and his wife, Vilma, and by her nephews, Anthony and Ralph, and their families.
Services took place on Nov. 12 at Queen of the Rosary Motherhouse, followed by the Mass of Christian Burial. Interment in St. Dominic Cemetery on the Motherhouse grounds immediately followed.
Sister Dolores Christi Gartanutti, O.P., an Amityville Dominican Sister for 70 years, died on Oct. 27 with her family present. She was 88 years old.
Sister Dolores was born on May 16, 1936, to John and Sara (Gaglione) Gartanutti in Brooklyn. She was educated by our sisters in Our Lady of Guadalupe School and then attended St. Brendan Diocesan High School, Brooklyn, where she was one of the stars of the basketball team.
Sister Dolores loved to play ball in her neighborhood, usually till the “streetlights came on.” She was an avid fan of the Brooklyn Dodgers and later the New York Mets.
She was received as a postulant by the Sisters of St. Dominic of Amityville on Sept. 12, 1954. Sister Dolores received the Dominican habit on Aug. 4, 1955. She and her classmates became known as the Golden Ruby-veined Tulips. These sisters professed their first vows on Aug. 8, 1956, and their final vows on Aug. 8, 1959.
