Sister Rita Maria McCauley, C.S.J., a Sister of St. Joseph, Brentwood, for 56 years, died Jan. 18 on hospice care at Maria Regina Residence, Brentwood.

She graduated from Holy Family   School in Fresh Meadows, and then Bishop McDonnell H.S., before entering the congregation in 1963 from Holy Family parish.

She earned a master’s degree in secondary education from St. John’s University in 1972 and pursued numerous grants over the years to sharpen her teaching skills.

She taught at St. Robert Bellarmine, Bayside, 1968-74; Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Sunset Park, 1974-75; and St. Ann, Flushing, 1975-79; before spending the next 37 years at St. Francis Prep H.S., Fresh Meadows, 1979-2016.

A Mass of Christian Burial was held in Maria Regina Chapel Jan. 25. Burial followed in Calvary Cemetery, Brentwood.