Sister Patricia Lawless, C.S.J., formerly Sister Mary Laurentine, a member of the Sisters of St. Joseph, Brentwood, L.I., for 57 years, died at Maria Regina Residence in Brentwood on Jan. 10.
She entered the congregation in 1957 from St. Ephrem parish, Dyker Heights.
She earned her bachelor’s degree in education from Brentwood College; a master’s in science teaching at Syracuse University; a master’s in education at Long Island University, and N.Y.S. certification in biology, chemistry and guidance.
She taught at Our Lady of Victory, Bedford-Stuyvesant, 1960-61; St. Philip Neri, Northport, L.I., 1962-64; St. Ambrose, Bedford-Stuyvesant, 1964-66; St. Agnes Seminary, Marine Park, 1966-67; St. Stanislaus Kostka, Greenpoint, 1967-68; Most Precious Blood, Long Island City, 1968-74; St. Angela Hall Academy, Clinton Hill, 1974-80; and Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Sunset Park, 1980-87.
In 1987, she returned to her roots, serving at St. Ephrem School until 1999. She went on to serve as a guidance counselor at Fontbonne Hall Academy, Bay Ridge, from 1999 until her retirement in 2011.
Sister Mary de Lourdes O’Brien, C.S.J., formerly Sister Raymond Augustine, a member of the Sisters of St. Joseph,
Brentwood, L.I., for 80 years, died at St. Joseph Convent in Brentwood on Jan. 15.
She entered the congregation in 1934 from the parish of Nativity of the Blessed Lord, Brooklyn. She had attended the parish school and Bishop McDonnell M.H.S., Crown Heights. She later obtained a bachelor’s degree from St. Joseph’s College, Clinton Hill, followed by another bachelor’s in library science from Pratt Institute-Library School, Clinton Hill, and a master’s in the same field from Columbia University.
Her ministries included St. Angela Hall Academy, Clinton Hill, 1936-38; St. Joseph’s College, Clinton Hill, 1938-60; St. Joseph Commercial H.S., Downtown Brooklyn, 1960-68; Brentwood College, Brentwood, 1968-70; Fontbonne Hall Academy, Bay Ridge, 1970-72; St. John’s University, Staten Island, 1972-76; Stella Maris H.S., Rockaway Park, 1976-89; and Opening Word Program, Brentwood, from 1997 until her retirement.
Sister Mary Catherine Leclair, C.S.J., a member of the Sisters of St. Joseph, Brentwood, L.I., for 67 years, died in Maria Regina Residence, Jan. 11.
She entered the congregation in 1947 from Our Lady of Angels parish, Bay Ridge.
She earned her bachelor of business administration degree from St. John’s University, Jamaica, and a master’s from Hunter College, Manhattan.
Her ministries included Holy Child Jesus, Richmond Hill, 1949-54; St. Ann, Flushing, 1954-58; St. Patrick, Long Island City, 1958-1959; St. Francis de Sales, Belle Harbor, 1959-61; Immaculate Conception, Jamaica 1961-62; St. Joseph Commercial H.S., Downtown Brooklyn, 1962-68, and 1974-75; Visitation B.V.M., Red Hook, 1968-74; Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Sunset Park, 1975-79; and Fontbonne Hall Academy, Bay Ridge, 1979-99.
In 1999, she also served as a pastoral care visitor at Mary’s Nativity, Flushing.
Sister Sheila Devlin R.S.H.M., previously known as Sister Claude, died at Marymount Convent, Tarrytown, N.Y., Jan. 27. She was 78 and had been a member of the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary for 56 years.
Born in Brooklyn, she attended Marymount College, Tarrytown; Manhattan College; and Lehman College.
She entered the congregation in 1955 and made her final vows in Tarrytown in 1962.
She taught at the Academy of the Sacred Heart of Mary, Manhattan, 1957-65 and then was missioned to Colegio Marymount in Barcelona, Colombia.
She returned to the Academy of the Sacred Heart of Mary in 1968 and taught there for 10 years. Then, from 1978 to 1993, she taught in the N.Y.C. Public School System at Riverdale J.H.S., the Bronx.
She retired from teaching in 1993 and moved to Marymount Convent, Tarrytown, where she lived until her death.
She is survived by her brother, Father James Devlin, pastor of Good Shepherd parish, Marine Park, and her sister, Mary Devlin, of the Bronx.
Burial was in Mount Calvary Cemetery, White Plains, N.Y.
Sister Mary Teresa Brown, O.P., a Sister of St. Dominic, Amityville, L.I., for 66 years, died Jan. 25. She was 85.
Born in Brooklyn, she attended St. Thomas the Apostle School in Woodhaven; and Dominican Commercial H.S., Jamaica, before entering the order in 1947.
Formerly known as Sister Mary Josita, she taught primary grades from 1949 to 1964 at St. Fidelis, College Point; St. Frances de Chantal, Borough Park; Christ the King, Springfield Gardens; Incarnation, Queens Village; and B.V.M. Help of Christians, Woodside. She then served as Language Arts Coordinator in elementary schools in the Brooklyn Diocese, 1964-71.
She was principal at Sacred Heart School, Cambria Heights, 1971-73, prior to working at the diocesan education office in Rockville Centre, L.I., 1973-75.
She served at the Diagnostic Learning Center, West Babylon, L.I., 1976-78, and acted as a traveling consultant for Houghton-Mifflin Company, giving language arts workshops, 1978-88.
She was principal at St. Boniface School, Elmont, L.I., 1988-97, and a founding director of the congregation’s Kinder Towne, 1997-2001.
Her teaching career concluded in Long Island as an educational assistant at St. Martin de Porres, Uniondale, L.I., and as a consultant for BOCES in Massapequa Park, L.I. She then served at the congregation’s Wellness Center in Bellerose.
