Sister Patricia Gimblett, RSM, (formerly Sister Mary Alacoque), a Sister of Mercy for 66 years, died on Feb. 26 at McAuley Health Care Center in Watchung, New Jersey, at age 84. 

Born the second of four children to Elizabeth and John Gimblett, she attended St. Jerome’s Elementary School and Mercy Juniorate High School, after which she entered the Novitiate of the Sisters of Mercy in 1956. 

Her ministry was varied, beginning as a teacher in Sacred Heart, St. Adelphi (’59-’61), St. Therese of Lisieux (’61-’63), St. Brigid (’63-’70), St. Thomas Aquinas, Flatlands (’70- ’73), Holy Trinity DHS (’73-’75), and Our Lady of Mercy Academy (’75- ’81). 

As parish minister in St. Edward the Confessor in Syosset (’81- ’82), she felt drawn to the role of counselor, and she continued her education at Seton Hall, receiving an MA in counseling. Thus began her years (’82-’88) as a counselor at Shell of Hope and Spirit of Hope Institute, where she touched the lives of many who were suffering in mind and body. She also served as a facilitator at St. Dominic’s, Oyster Bay, and for the Sisters of St. Joseph. 

A funeral Mass was celebrated at the Sisters of Mercy Convent in Whitestone, New York. Burial was in St. Charles Cemetery, Farmingdale, New York.