Sister Mary Janetta McAlevey passed away on July 4 after serving for almost 78 years as a Sister of St. Dominic. She was 96.

John and Florence McVarish McAlevey welcomed Gloria Claire, the third of their three children, on Feb.5, 1929. She and her
brother, John, and sister, Florence, were raised in Brooklyn and attended St. Agatha School.

After graduating from Bishop McDonnell Memorial High School in January 1947, Gloria and her classmate, now Sister Maureen Cronin, worked at Coty Perfumes for about six months.

On her entrance day, Sept. 7, 1947, she drove her parents and sister to Amityville while her brother followed on his motorcycle.

On Aug. 4, 1948, Gloria was clothed in the Dominican habit and received her religious name, Sister Mary Janetta. She pronounced her first vows on Aug. 6, 1949, and her final vows on Aug. 7, 1952.

Sister Mary studied mathematics at St. John’s University and Catholic University, Washington, D.C., and was the recipient of National Science Foundation grants for studies at Brooklyn College and Fordham.

Early ministries in elementary education were at St. Martin of Tours in Amityville and St. Aloysius in Brooklyn. In 1960, she
began teaching at St. Agnes Academic High School, College Point, New York.

In 1962, she was assigned to St. Joseph Mountain School, Sullivan County, New York, where she taught math and was the principal of the high school.

With the closure of St. Joseph’s, Sister Mary came to East New York to teach in St. Michael’s High School. Later, she ministered at Dominican Commercial High School, where she taught, chaired the math department, and was assistant principal.

For more than a decade, she was an adjunct math instructor at Molloy College (now Molloy University), Rockville Centre, where she was the first recipient of the Caritas Medal for volunteer work.

In retirement, Sister Mary became finance director at St. Thérèse of Lisieux in Brooklyn. That was followed by 11 years as a volunteer librarian at Most Holy Trinity and Blessed Sacrament schools.

Her wake and funeral were celebrated at Queen of the Rosary, Amityville, on July 10, followed by the Mass of Christian Burial. Interment was in St. Dominic Cemetery.