Sister Lillian Ellen De Lorme, OP (Sister Michael Maureen), died July 26, at 89 years of age, after devoting nearly 69 years to the service of God’s people as a Sister of St. Dominic of Amityville.
Born August 20, 1932, Lillian was the baby daughter of Lillian and Joseph De Lorme of Long Island City. She attended The Mary Louis Academy in Queens and enjoyed playing the saxophone in the school orchestra. It was the beginning of her lifelong love of music.
On September 12, 1953, Lillian entered the Sisters of St. Dominic as a postulant. She received the habit on August 4, 1954, as a member of the “Bluebell” set and received her religious name of Sister Michael Maureen.
The following year she was professed and assigned to St. Bartholomew School in Elmhurst. After 10 years, she was assigned to Our Lady of Lourdes School in Malverne, followed by three years in the Rockville Centre Diocesan TV Center as a TV/Radio Specialist.
Vatican II had a profound impact on Lillian’s life and spirituality, and she was one of the first sisters to embrace the role of pastoral associate. She ministered as such in St. Ignatius Loyola Parish, Hicksville, where she served for 11 years, and in Good Shepherd Parish in Holbrook for 30 years. Her brother Charles summed up her life work in one word: “disciple,” as was evident in all her ministries and daily encounters.
Lillian joined The New Jerusalem intentional community in 1975, which was built on the four pillars of Dominican Life: prayer, community, ministry, and study.
She was a member of this beloved community until her health necessitated a move to Carlin Hall.
A lifelong learner, she earned Master’s degrees from St. John’s University, New York University and Iona College.
Her spirituality embraced the ideals of Vatican II and the New Cosmology. Her love for the earth encouraged her to join the Motherhouse Care of Creation Team when she moved to Carlin Hall in 2016. Sister Lillian also had a great devotion to St. Therese’s “Little Way.” Her family and friends described her as loyal, loving, kind, and thoughtful.
Sister Lillian will be missed by her brother Charles and sister-in-law Eileen, as well as nieces, nephews, and other family members, her many friends, as well as the Sisters of St. Dominic.
A wake and funeral, including a prayer service and Mass of Christian Burial, were held in St. Albert Chapel on July 28, followed by interment in the sisters’ cemetery.
Sister M. Charlene Templeton, IHM, of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, died on Saturday, July 16, at Our Lady of Peace Residence in Scranton.
She was born on November 22, 1922, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and given the name Ruth Agnes.
She was the daughter of the late Arthur David and Agnes Regina McGeehan Templeton.
She entered the IHM Congregation on February 2, 1944, made her temporary profession of vows on August 2, 1946, and her final profession of vows on August 2, 1949. Sister Charlene received a Bachelor of Science degree in education, and a Master of Science degree in elementary education, both from Marywood College.
Sister Charlene served as a teacher in Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Elementary School in Forest Hills from 1946 to 1950 and St. Ephrem Elementary School in Brooklyn from 1950 to 1958. She also taught at Immaculate Conception Elementary School in Scranton, Pennsylvania; St. Michael’s School for Boys in Hoban Heights, Pennsylvania; St. Thomas Elementary School in Providence, Rhode Island; St. John Elementary School in Pittston, Pennsylvania; St. Leo Elementary School in Ashley, Pennsylvania; St. Ann Elementary School in Devon, Connecticut; St. Mary Elementary School in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania; and St. Mary of the Mount Elementary School in Pittsburgh.
She also served as a library assistant at St. Mary High School in Manhasset, New York, and a small group instructor at St. Mary Elementary School in Manhasset.
From 2007 until her death, Sister Charlene was a prayer minister at Our Lady of Peace Residence in Scranton. Interment will be at St. Catherine’s Cemetery in Moscow, Pennsylvania. Due to restrictions related to the coronavirus, the funeral Mass and graveside service was private.