Sister Rose Damien Killeen, C.S.J., 90, a member of the Sisters of St. Joseph, Brentwood, L.I., for 72 years, died July 8 in St. Joseph Convent, Brentwood.
She entered the congregation from Our Lady of Angels parish, Bay Ridge, in 1942.
She studied at Manhattan College, and St. John’s University in Jamaica, where she earned master’s degrees in history and library sciences. She received her certification as a chaplain by the National Association of Catholic Chaplains in 1980.
She taught at Immaculate Conception, Jamaica, 1944-55; St. Camillus, Rockaway Beach, 1955-57; Our Lady of Sorrows, Corona, 1957-59; Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Astoria, 1959-62; and Bishop Kearney H.S., Bensonhurst, 1962-64.
She served on the staff at St. Joseph Novitiate, Brentwood, 1964-68; was the librarian assistant at Brentwood College Library, Brentwood, 1968-69; was the librarian at St. Joseph H.S., Downtown Brooklyn, 1971-80; served as a pastoral minister at Holy Family Hospital, Boerum Hill, 1980-85; and was the chaplain at Mary Immaculate Hospital, Jamaica, 1985-97.
A Mass of Christian Burial took place in Sacred Heart Chapel, Brentwood, July 11.
Interment followed in Calvary Cemetery.
Sister Rose Damien was my 4th grade teacher at Immaculate Conception grammar school in 1946. She was a sweet and kind woman. I liked her so much that, being such a brat, I went out of my way to behave myself in her presence so as not to disappoint her. She was a beautiful woman inside and out. Even after all these years I still remember her gentleness and kindness.