Sister Clement Marie Fay, O.P., of Dominican Convent, Sparkill, N.Y., died March 7 in Siena Hall. She was 89.
Born in Glendale, she entered the congregation of Our Lady of the Rosary in Sparkill in 1955 and received the name Sister Clement Marie, professing her final vows in 1962.
She was an elementary teacher and reading specialist at St. Teresa, Woodside, 1959-60; St. Mary Magdalene, Springfield Gardens, 1966-67; Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Richmond Hill, 1967-72; St. Pascal, St. Albans, 1972-74; and St. Sebastian, Woodside, 1974-84.
She retired in 1990.

 

Father John D. Alexander, S.J., the driving force behind the Brooklyn Prep alumni community, died March 12 at Murray-Weigel Hall, Bronx. He was 90.
Born in Jerssey City, he attended St. Peter’s Prep, and joined the Society of Jesus in 1941.
He was ordained a priest on June 19, 1954 at the Fordham University Church by Cardinal Francis X. Spellman.
In 1956, he began a long commitment to Brooklyn Prep, which became his home, community and the site of his apostolic work for many years as teacher, administrator, headmaster and moderator of the alumni.
When Brooklyn Prep closed in 1972, he joined the faculty of Xavier H.S., Manhattan, for five years. In 1978, he began full-time work with the alumni of Brooklyn Prep as the moderator of the Brooklyn Prep Alumni Association that still maintains the Alumni Association Fund, which supports scholarships and educational causes and hosts an annual alumni dinner and golf outing.
In 2008, he began living at Loyola Hall, the Jesuit community on the Fordham campus, and for the last years of his life he resided at the Jesuit infirmary, Murray-Weigel Hall.

 

Sister Mary Noreen Healy, R.S.M., 89, a member of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas Mid-Atlantic Community for 72 years, died Feb. 14.
Born in Brooklyn, she attended St. Brigid School, Bushwick, and Mercy Juniorate H.S., after which she entered the Sisters of Mercy Novitiate in 1942, professing final vows in 1947.
She taught in St. Jerome’s School, East Flatbush, 1944-45; St. Gerard Majella, Hollis, 1946-50; St. Gregory the Great, Crown Heights, 1950-59; Our Lady of Mercy Academy, Syosset, L.I., 1959-66; and Holy Trinity H.S., Hicksville, 1966-72 and 1976-98. She also served as principal of Mercy H.S., Riverhead, L.I., 1972-76.
A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated at the Sisters of Mercy Convent, Whitestone. Burial was in St. John’s Cemetery, Middle Village.

 

 

Sister Patrice Ward, R.S.M., 87, a member of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas Mid-Atlantic Community for 70 years, died Feb. 2.
Born in Brooklyn, she attended Sacred Heart School in Fort Greene, and Mercy Juniorate H.S., after which she entered the Sisters of Mercy Novitiate in 1943, professing final vows in 1949.
She spent many years in childcare at the Convent of Mercy, Fort Greene, 1946-48 and 1956-66, and at St. Mary’s Home, Syosset, L.I., 1948-56 and 1966-74.
She served in the school’s office of St. Edward the Confessor, Syosset, from 1974 until her retirement in 2006.
Burial was in St. John’s Cemetery, Middle Village.

 

Sister Patricia Kearney, R.S.M., 78, a member of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas Mid-Atlantic Community for 61 years, died Feb. 4, at Mercy Center in Dallas, Pa.
Born in Brooklyn, she graduated from St. Thomas Aquinas School, Flatlands, and St. Brendan’s H.S., Midwood, after which she entered the Sisters of Mercy Novitiate in 1953, professing final in 1958.
Formerly known as Sister Mary Clement, she taught at St. Jerome’s, East Flatbush, 1955-57; St. Brigid, Ridgewood, 1957-64; and St. Patrick, Kent Ave., Fort Greene, 1964-65.
She taught at St. Gregory the Great, Crown Heights, 1965-67, and then served as principal, 1967-72.
She served on her community’s leadership team from 1972 to 1976 and again from 1980 to 1984.
She served as a guidance counselor at Unity Catholic School, Crown Heights, 1976-77, and as principal of St. Bernard’s School, Mill Basin, 1977-80.
After earning her master’s degree in social work, she worked as a clinical supervisor and psychotherapist at Family Life Mental Health Clinic in Brooklyn.
Her final ministry was as director of the boarding program at Catherine McAuley H.S., East Flatbush, 2002-10.
Burial was in Holy Cross Cemetery, Flatbush.