Sister Ann Newell, IHM
Sister Ann Newell, IHM, (formerly known as Sister Loyola Marie) of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary died on Tuesday, May 3, 2022 at Our Lady of Peace Residence in Scranton, PA.
She was born on March 30, 1936, in Philadelphia, PA, and given the name Ann Patricia. She was the daughter of the late Michael F. and Ellen Cannon Newell. She entered the IHM Congregation in Immaculata, PA, on September 8, 1955, made her temporary profession of vows on August 15, 1957, and her final profession of vows on August 15, 1962. She joined the IHM Congregation in Scranton, PA, on June 24, 1982.
Sister Ann served as a teacher in the following schools: St. Madeline School in Ridley Park, PA, from 1957 to 1961; St. Matthew Elementary School in Philadelphia, PA, from 1961 to 1966; St. Thomas Aquinas Elementary School in Croydon, PA, from 1966 to 1969; Most Blessed Sacrament School in Philadelphia, PA, from 1969 to 1971; Holy Family School in Philadelphia, PA, from 1971 to 1973; Immaculate Conception Elementary School in Philadelphia, PA, from 1973 to 1976; West Catholic High School for Girls in Philadelphia, PA, from 1976 to 1980; Lourdes Academy in Miami, FL, from 1980 to 1981; Immaculata High School in Somerville, NJ, from 1981 to 1982; Bishop O’Hara High School in Dunmore, PA, from 1982 to 1983; Bishop Hoban High School in Wilkes-Barre, PA, from 1983 to 1984; and St. Mark’s High School in Wilmington, DE, from 1984 to 1986.
Sister Ann also served as education and vocation counselor at Covenant House in New York, NY, from 1986 to 1992; pastoral associate at Church of the Nativity in Fair Haven, NJ, from 1992 to 1996; associate director at St. Pius X Spiritual Life Center in Blackwood, NJ, from 1996 to 1997; director of campus ministry at East Stroudsburg University in East Stroudsburg, PA, from 1997 to 2000; pastoral associate at St. Paul Parish in Burlington, NJ, from 2000 to 2005; receptionist at Lourdesmont Youth and Family Services in Clarks Green, PA, from 2005 to 2007; support services for the IHM Congregation in Scranton, PA, from 2007 to 2013; and an English as a Second Language Program instructor at St. John Neumann Parish in Scranton, from 2013 to 2019.
From 2019 until the time of her death, Sister Ann was a prayer minister at Our Lady of Peace Residence in Scranton.
She received a Bachelor of Science degree in elementary education and a Bachelor of Arts degree in theology both from Immaculata University; a Master of Arts degree in religious studies/morality from St. Charles Borromeo Seminary; and a Master of Arts degree in spirituality/pastoral counseling from Fordham University.
She was preceded in death by three brothers, Reverend Joseph, SJ, James J., and Michael, Jr., and four sisters, Sister Marie, SSJ, Eleanor Newell Hofkes, Sister Dorothea, SSJ, and Sister Catherine, SSJ.
She is survived by a sister-in-law, Margaret Newell of Delmar, NY, and nieces and nephews. She is also survived by members of the IHM Congregation.
The funeral will be Friday, May 13, at 12:00 noon with Mass of Christian Burial at Our Lady of Peace Residence, 2300 Adams Avenue in Scranton, PA. Friends may call at Our Lady of Peace Residence on Friday, May 13, between 10:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. A prayer service will be held at 11:30 a.m. Interment will follow Mass on Friday at St. Catherine’s Cemetery in Moscow, PA. All those attending must check in at the reception desk and wear a mask while in the building.
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.
Prayer of Remembrance and Funeral Mass: https://video.ibm.com/recorded/131760710
Reflection given by Sister Ellen Maroney, IHM Congregation President
Sister Ann Newell, funeral May 13, 2022
As we gather this morning to celebrate the life of Sister Ann, I want to add my welcome to Ann’s nephew, Michael, her other nieces and nephews and cousins who are here with us this morning, her IHM sisters, especially those who lived with her here at OLP in Household 1B, and all whose lives she touched in so many meaningful ways. We also welcome other family members, including her sister-in-law, Margaret, and all who join us via livestream today.
I am very happy to welcome and thank our celebrant, Father John Michael, our Passionist brother, for serving as our celebrant today.
I also would like to express thanks to Mary Theresa Malandro, our CEO, and Danelle Hill, our administrator for clinical services, and also Sister Eleanor Mary, our pastoral associate, and the nursing staff here at OLP for their loving care and support of Ann.
“O God, You have taken me like clay and formed my life.
You have given shape to my hopes and dreams. . .
I praise You for having loved me enough to create life through and for me. . .
I ask that You use me to bring new life and joy to all Your people.”
Anonymous Prayer
I found this prayer and thought it truly reflects Ann’s utter trust in and love for the God whom she loved unconditionally. They also offer consolation to us who contemplate anew the mystery of a Divine Love who called Ann home last week with an immediacy that our human hearts struggle to understand but for which our hearts of faith can only yearn. During this morning’s sharing at the wake service, some wonderful stories have been shared about Ann’s generosity, compassion, determination, humor, and love for her family, her IHM community, and those with and to whom she ministered. She moved us with her persistence and insights, awakened us to causes for justice and peace, especially on behalf of the most vulnerable youth, blessed us with her unshakeable trust in God’s love and compassion for all, and reminded us of the inherent value of laughter. These valuable lessons which remain in our minds and hearts, not to be forgotten.
Today then we give gratitude for the life of Ann and the countless ways she shared life and love with us as sister, friend, aunt, teacher, campus and pastoral minister, spiritual guide, advocate for homeless youth, and so much more during her sixty-five years of religious life. A person of integrity, Ann lived and spoke her truth even when it may not have been accepted or popular or even in her own comfort zone. Her life journey from a loving family to the Immaculata IHMs and finally to the Scranton IHMs was one of fidelity to one’s authentic call from God, to follow wherever it leads one. In the classroom, her students heard her voice of firm but encouraging reasoning mixed with kindness, humor, and an eternal belief in the potential of each. As the education and vocation counselor at Covenant House, she shared her generosity, dedication, and deep reverence for each individual young adult she mentored. Ann considered her experience with these students and the staff with whom she ministered a life-changing experience for her. She had a special gift for gaining the trust of those in need by using daily encounters as opportunities to teach life-long lessons. Her goal was fundamentally to help them become better human beings, and in so doing, to know and draw closer to God who loved them unconditionally.
Ann brought those same gifts to her ministries as a pastoral and campus minister in parishes in New Jersey and at East Stroudsburg University and when she served as a member of the support staff at Lourdesmont and at our IHM sponsored Friends of the Poor. She later ministered as an instructor in our ESL program here in Scranton before coming here to OLP in 2019 as a prayer minister. That prayer relationship with God was fundamental to all that Ann was and did throughout her life. Most of her ministries were in service to the marginalized, to those most at risk in our society, to those who most needed to know God’s love and compassion. She tried her best to embody that love to them.
Ann had a great sense of humor and enjoyed a good joke. Her favorite response when the staff asked if she wanted ice cream for dessert was, “Is the pope catholic?” followed by her hearty laugh. She loved a good tiime, singing, dancing, and she really enjoyed playing Bingo, at which, I’m told, she often cheated and almost always got caught! As the youngest of eight children, Ann enjoyed and frequently talked about her early experiences of living in “community” while growing up. (There must have been something in the water there because five of the eight children joined religious congregations). She unabashedly admitted that she was spoiled, especially by her brothers. That love of family continued through the generations, as evidenced by the presence of family members here with us. We remember today Ann’s parents, Ellen and Michael, her sisters, Eleanor and Sisters Marie, Catherine, and Dorothea, all SSJs, and brothers, James, Michael, and Father Joseph, a Jesuit, all of whom certainly welcomed Ann to her eternal home last Tuesday with much joy and festivity.
We ask God to fill with hope and peace the hearts of her sister-in-law, Margaret, and all her nieces, nephews, cousins, and their extended family members, her IHM sisters, especially those who lived with her in Household 1B here at Our Lady of Peace, the staff and administrators here, and all with whom Ann shared life.
“O God, You have taken me like clay and formed my life.
You have given shape to my hopes and dreams. . .
I praise You for having loved me enough to create life through and for me. . .
I ask that You use me to bring new life and joy to all Your people.”
For sure, Ann embodied the deep meaning of this prayer and so served God and our world. May her example continue to inspire, energize, and guide us always.
I now ask Michael to place the bible on Ann’s casket, for she heard the Word of God, she staked her life upon it and received life to the full . . . the Word now beckons Ann home.
