Dear Editor: I have fond memories of Sister Anne Michel Pavell, C.S.J., (Obituaries, Jan. 16) from St. Augustine parish in the early 1960s. I will always remember her as a vibrant young woman devoted to her faith and students.

She exemplified the heroic and self-sacrificing women of that glorious era in Catholic education when religious like Sister Anne Michel lifted generations of Catholic children into middle class and professional status. She introduced me to the Christian Brothers at St. Augustine H.S., for which I will be forever grateful.

Sister Anne Michel prepared several classes for the sacrament of Confirmation after teaching eighth-grade students academic subjects. In those days, 50 or 60 to a class was the norm. It did not seem a burden to her. I read that Sister Anne did graduate work in social science which was in accord with her enthusiasm for current events.

Religious like Sister Anne Michel give Catholic identity a profound meaning.

GERARD DEMAIO

East Flatbush