Sister Catherine Marie Walsh, S.C., died Feb. 4, at Calvary Hospital in the Bronx at age 84, in the 67th year of her commitment as a Sister of Charity.
Sister Catherine was born April 29, 1937, in Manhattan, one of three children, two daughters, and a son, of Stephen and Catherine Mullin Walsh. Catherine attended Saint Luke Elementary School in the Bronx, and Cathedral High School in Manhattan, before entering the Sisters of Charity of New York on Sept. 8, 1955.
Sister Catherine received a BA in history from the College of Mount Saint Vincent and an MS in Elementary Education from Fordham University.
Forty of Sister Catherine’s 45 years of active ministry were in the field of education. Her 20 years in elementary education were in the primary grades at Saint Athanasius in the Bronx, Saint Peter in Brooklyn and Saint Peter in Haverstraw, N.Y. While at Saint Athanasius, Sister Catherine requested permission to leave her teaching assignment to assist with the care of her brother’s children following the death of their mother. After a year, she returned to teaching at Saint Athanasius and later was sent to Saint Peter in Haverstraw.
Between 1979 and 1983, Sister Catherine served as an intern at the Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility and provided services for the retired sisters at the Convent of Mary the Queen in Yonkers, New York. In 1983, she returned to education and worked for 20 years as an assistant in the Corrigan Memorial Library at Saint Joseph Seminary in Yonkers. In 2016, Sister Catherine joined the retired sisters at Mount Saint Vincent Convent. In 2022, she was moved to the hospice program at Calvary Hospital, where she died.
A wake for Sister Catherine was held at Flynn Memorial Home, Yonkers, on Feb. 11, followed by a funeral Mass at St. Margaret of Cortona Church, the Bronx, and burial at St. Joseph Cemetery, Yonkers.
Sister Mary Geraghty, CSJ, a Sister of St. Joseph for 73 years, died Jan. 31, in Maria Regina Residence, Brentwood, N.Y., at age 92.
Sister Mary was born in Brooklyn, of Irish parents, Martin and Alice, and attended St. Francis Xavier Elementary School and St. Joseph High School, Brooklyn, after which she entered the Sisters of St. Joseph in 1948.
Her degrees from St. John’s University, Hunter College, and the Postgraduate Center for Mental Health (NYC) prepared her for her ministry in education and beyond. Her educational assignments included St. Michael’s, Flushing, St. Martin of Tours, Transfiguration, Our Lady of Victory, St. Gabriel’s and St. Joseph H.S. in Brooklyn, and St. Rita’s and St. Benedict Joseph Labre Schools in Queens. From 1972 to 1980, St. Paul’s Center in Brooklyn claimed Sister Mary’s giftedness through her work in Women’s Cursillo, one of her noted accomplishments. Sister Mary also served at Holy Trinity H.S., Hicksville, New York; Stella Maris HS, Rockaway; and St. Patrick’s Parish, Glen Cove, New York.
From 1991-2000, Sister Mary was Regional Superior for the Sisters of St. Joseph in Suffolk County. She resided at St. Bernard’s Convent, Levittown, for 39 years, after which she moved to Sacred Heart Convent, Hempstead, until December 31, 2021. Her sparkling spirit touched all who knew her.
She will be missed by her sister Alice, her brother Msgr. Martin Geraghty, her nieces and nephews, and her religious community, all of whom were an integral part of her life. Father Ralph Sommer, in conjunction with Msgr. Martin Geraghty, celebrated the Mass of Christian Burial on Feb. 7 in Sacred Heart Chapel, Brentwood, which was followed by her burial in Calvary Cemetery, Brentwood.