Sister Maureen Skelly, S.C. (Sister Ann Marian), a Sister of Charity-Halifax for 70 years, died at Elizabeth Seton Residence in Wellesley, Massachusetts on Sept. 25 at 89.
She is predeceased by her father and mother, John J. Skelly and Laura (Geer) Skelly; her brother, Robert E. Skelly, and her sister, Laura Tracey; her niece, Kathy Monti; and grandnephew, Bryan Thomas Flaherty.
Sister Maureen leaves her brother, John Skelly, Jr. and his wife, Louise; her sister-in-law, Evelyn Skelly, and her brother-in-law, Thomas Tracey; several nieces, nephews, grandnieces, and grandnephews; her friend, Sister Grazyna Michniewicz, SC, and her sisters throughout the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity, Halifax.
Sister Maureen was from St. Sebastian’s in Woodside. Sister Maureen’s life in ministry was multi-faceted. She began teaching in Yarmouth and Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Arvida, Quebec.
She returned to her beloved New York in 1968, teaching at St. Sebastian’s, Woodside, and Our Lady of the Cenacle, Richmond Hill, where she was also music coordinator for the Diocese of
Brooklyn.
In 1975, Sister Maureen received her MA degree in theology from St. John’s University, Jamaica, followed by an MA in education with a specialization in music from Queens College, Flushing. While teaching music at Queens College, she was offered a position in the Methadone Clinic at Elmhurst Hospital.
Her studies in health care led to her receiving certificates in rehabilitation, drug addiction, and counseling. She was a member of the Retreat Team at Manresa, Staten Island. She lovingly ministered to
HIV retreatants — a ministry which, she admitted, gave her some of her “finest moments.” After her retirement, she volunteered at the Staten Island University Hospital.
Sister Maureen moved to Marillac Residence, German Centre at the Schrafft Pavilion, and then Elizabeth Seton Residence, where she continued to give joyful witness to love with her music. Funeral services took place on Oct. 3 at Mount Saint Vincent, Wellesley, Massachusetts, and she was laid to rest in St. Mary Cemetery, Needham, Massachusetts.