Sister Jane Theresa Bannon, C.S.J., a Sister of St. Joseph, Brentwood, for 64 years and the former principal of Stella Maris H.S. in Rockaway Beach, died on Sept. 5 at Maria Regina Residence in Brentwood.
She attended Immaculate Heart of Mary School, Kensington, and St. Brendan H.S., Midwood, before entering the congregation in 1954 from Immaculate Heart of Mary parish.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from St. Joseph College, and a master’s in administration/supervision from St. John’s University.
Formerly known as Sister Loretta Edward, she taught at St. Pascal Baylon, St. Albans, 1956-59; St. Ambrose, Bedford-Stuyvesant, 1959-64; Holy Name, Windsor Terrace, 1964-68 and 1970-71; and Bishop Kearney H.S., Bensonhurst, 1968-70.
Sister Jane Theresa spent the next 39 years at Stella Maris H.S., serving as a math teacher, 1971-1980; assistant principal, 1980-81; principal, 1981-97, and finally as director of development, 1997-2010.
She served at Hour Children, Long Island City, 1997, and St. Joseph Convent, Brentwood, 2010.
She was also admitted into Catholic H.S. Athletic Association’s Hall of Fame.
A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated Sept. 11 at Maria Regina Chapel. Burial followed in Calvary Cemetery in Brentwood.
I wonder if she took inspiration from St. Peter – the foundational rock that the Church was built upon. At Stella Maris High School, she was often the rock that steadied our lives: teenage girls coming of age in (personally, socially and religiously) tumultuous times. Thank you Sister. Rest in peace.