Sister Jeanne Francis Budd, OP, a Dominican Sister of Amityville for 68 years, died on March 16. She was 88.
She was born (as Dolores June) in Astoria, Queens, on Sept. 4, 1932. She attended public school as a child and later went to the Juniorate in Watermill.
Dolores June entered the Congregation on Sept. 6, 1952, and was invested a year later on Aug. 4, 1953, receiving her religious name, Sister Jeanne Francis.
Sister Jeanne’s first assignment was at St. Frances de Chantal School, The Bronx. More elementary school experiences followed in All Saints, Williamsburg; St. Leonard, Bushwick; St. Aloysius, Ridgewood; and Our Lady of Solace, Coney Island.
She also taught in Our Lady of Lourdes in Malverne and Christ the King in Springfield Gardens.
After ministering in elementary education, Sr. Jeanne studied and worked in the field of Special Education. She taught high school age children who attended elementary school sites in Brooklyn. Jeanne was very influential in locating a high school site for these students in Mater Christi High School in Astoria.
After teaching for many years, Sister Jeanne worked in St. Luke School in Whitestone for 14 years as secretary for Sister Peggy Krajci. Her next ministry was as the secretary for Debra Pfeifer, RN, the Director of Nursing in Carlin Hall, Amityville.
Her funeral Mass was held on March 22, in the Motherhouse, followed by her burial in the Sisters’ Cemetery in Amityville.
Sister Joan Mary Finn, OP, a Sister of Saint Dominic of Amityville for 65 years, died on March 12. She was 84.
She was born in the Bronx, and later the family moved to Whitestone, Queens.
She entered the Novitiate at Amityville from the parish of St. Luke, Whitestone, on Sept. 10, 1955.
On Aug. 6, 1956, she was clothed in the Dominican habit and given her religious name, Sister Joan Mary. She pronounced her first vows on Aug. 8, 1956, and her final vows on Aug. 8, 1960.
Sister Joan received a Bachelor of Science degree at St. John’s University, Jamaica, and a Master of Science at Canisius College, Buffalo, New York.
Her early ministry was in elementary education, first at St. Fidelis, College Point, and then at Incarnation, Queens Village.
She initially learned sign language from the deaf. At the National Technical School for the Deaf in Rochester, New York, she mastered the language of Total Communication, which incorporated sign language and fingerspelling, as well as other communication strategies.
In 1968, she began teaching at Caritas School for the Deaf, beginning a four-decade ministry to the deaf on Long Island. In 1975 she became pastoral assistant in Rockville Centre’s Catholic Charities Ministry with the Deaf, and in 1979 she was appointed coordinator of Pastoral Ministry for the Deaf. After retiring and moving to Rosary Hall at Queen of the Rosary Motherhouse, she continued her ministry, going out to parishes to sign at masses.
Her funeral Mass was held on March 19, in St. Albert Chapel at the Motherhouse, followed by internment in the Sisters’ Cemetery, Amityville.
Sister Rose Lanzone, CSJ, formerly known as Sister Maria Fatima, a member of the Congregation of Sisters of St. Joseph for 73 years, died on Feb. 3.
She entered the congregation from her home parish of St. Mary Star of the Sea in Far Rockaway. Sr. Rose earned her BA from St. Francis College in 1972 and her MS in Education from Fordham University in 1975. She earned her NY State Permanent Teachers Certification in 1975 and her MS in Religious Education from Fordham University in 1991.
Her ministries included Holy Family, Flushing (1955-58); Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Sunset Park (1958-66); Our Lady of Victory, Bedford-Stuyvesant (1966-68, 1969-73); SS Peter and Paul, Williamsburg, (1968-69); St. Martin de Porres, Bedford-Stuyvesant (1973-74); Our Lady of Lourdes, Bushwick (1978-1989); St. John of God, Central Islip (1989-91); St. Patrick Senior Citizens, Smithtown (1992).
Her wake and funeral Mass was on Feb. 8, in the Joan de Lourdes Room, followed by burial in Calvary Cemetery, Brentwood.