Sister Maria Lucian Convery, IHM
Sister Maria Lucian Convery, IHM, of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, died Tuesday, May 11, 1982 at the Marian Convent in Scranton, Pennsylvania, after an illness.
She was born on July 16, 1902, in Rocktown, County Donegal, Ireland, and given the name Letitia. She was daughter of the late Bernard and Catherine McGurk Convery. She entered the IHM Congregation at Marywood on September 30, 1926, received the religious habit on December 29, 1926, and made profession of her vows on January 2, 1929.
Sister Maria Lucian served as a cook at: St. Joseph Hospital in Carbondale, PA, for 19 years; St. Michael's School for Boys in Hoban Heights, PA; Most Holy Rosary Convent in Syracuse, NY; and at IHM Convents located in New York, Rhode Island, Ashley and Pittsburgh, PA.
In 1964, Sister Maria Lucian came to the Marian Convent, where she worked on the support staff, until illness forced her retire.
She is survived by three sisters, Mrs. Rita Corr of Lapeer, Michigan, Mrs. John Hamill Davison of Michigan, Mrs. Kathleen Christian of Ardglass, County Down, Ireland, and several nieces and nephews.
The funeral will be Friday, May 14 at the Marian Convent, with Mass of Christian Burial at 9:30 a.m. Interment will follow at St. Catherine's Cemetery, Moscow, Pennsylvania. Friends may call at the Marian Convent Thursday afternoon or evening.
Memorial contributions may be made to support the retired IHM Sisters c/o the IHM Sisters Retirement Fund, IHM Center, 2300 Adams Avenue, Scranton, PA 18509.
The Congregation of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary benefited from the efforts to bring young women from Ireland to Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Over the years a total of sixty-five young women became professed IHM religious. Their services were received as far west at Coeur d'Alene, Idaho at the IHM Academy and at St. Edward School, Twin Falls, Idaho. The southern missions witnessed their dedication in Washington, Raleigh, and Rocky Mount, North Carolina. It was remarked that black children in some southern schools were speaking with an Irish brogue! The Sisters from Ireland also served in many locations in Pennsylvania, such as Dushore, Lock Haven, Exeter, Altoona, Pittsburgh, St. Michael's School in Hoban Heights, Cresson, Pittston, Scranton, and Williamsport. New York and Rhode Island missions also received their services.
Excerpted from The Story of the Native Irish Sisters Who Entered the Congregation of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Scranton Pennsylvania by Sister M. Michel Keenan, IHM, 2006, p.18
