Sister Ann Lucille Bohn, IHM
Sister Ann Lucille Bohn, IHM (formerly known as Sister M. Petra), of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary died on Sunday, October 12, 2014, at Our Lady of Peace Residence in Scranton, PA.
She was born on June 18, 1927, in Scranton, PA. She was the daughter of the late Peter J. and Catherine Crane Bohn. She entered the IHM Congregation on September 8, 1946, made her temporary profession of vows on May 9, 1949, and her final profession of vows on August 2, 1952.
Sister Ann Lucille served as a teacher at the following schools: St. Peter of Alcantara Elementary School in Port Washington, NY, from 1949 to 1950; Archbishop Neale Elementary School in LaPlata, MD, from 1950 to 1951; St. Thomas Aquinas Elementary School in Archbald, PA, from 1951 to 1953; St. Bernard Elementary School in Hastings, PA, from 1953 to 1956; St. Rita Elementary School in Baltimore, MD, from 1956 to 1959; Our Lady of Good Counsel Elementary School in Inwood, NY, from 1959 to 1966; St. Leo Elementary School in Ashley, PA, from 1966 to 1969; St. Dominic Elementary School in Oyster Bay, NY, from 1969 to 1970; St. Ephrem Elementary School in Brooklyn, NY, from 1970 to 1975; St. John the Evangelist Elementary School in Silver Spring, MD, from 1975 to 1978; and St. Mary Elementary School in Upper Marlboro, MD, from 1978 to 1979.
Sister also served as pastoral minister at Our Lady of Sorrows Parish in Takoma Park, MD, from 1982 to 1991; at Most Holy Rosary Parish in Syracuse, NY, from 1991 to 1998; and at Marian Community Hospital in Carbondale, PA, from 2001 to 2004. She was a market assistant at Knowledge Systems & Research in DeWitt, NY, from 1998 to 2001.
From 2004 until the time of her death, Sister Ann Lucille served as a prayer minister at the Marian Convent and Our Lady of Peace Residence, both in Scranton.
She received a bachelor of science degree in education and master of science degree in guidance both from Marywood College.
She was preceded in death by a brother, Peter J., and two sisters, Mary E. Dougherty and Catherine Lewis.
She is survived by nieces and nephews.
The funeral will be Wednesday, October 15, at 11:00 a.m. with Mass of Christian Burial at Our Lady of Peace Residence, 2300 Adams Avenue in Scranton. Friends may call at Our Lady of Peace Residence on Tuesday, October 14, between 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. A prayer service will be held at 4:00 p.m. Interment will follow Mass on Wednesday at St. Catherine’s Cemetery in Moscow, PA.
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.
Reflections given by Sister Ellen Maroney, IHM Congregation President
Good afternoon, Sisters and Friends. We gather this afternoon to celebrate the great gift of the life of Sister Ann Lucille Bohn.
For sixty-six years of religious life, Ann Lucille witnessed her dedication to God and to serving others. She taught in schools in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and New York, was a market assistant for a research company in Dewitt, New York, and also served as a pastoral minister in Maryland, New York, and at our own Marian Community Hospital in Carbondale. Talk about versatility!
Ann Lucille’s welcoming spirit and generosity were gifts to all who knew her, as was her compassion and care for the sick and homebound she visited.
Those who lived and ministered with her knew her as a person who said what she believed, but in a manner that was non-judgmental and open, never harsh. She had an abiding love of God, her family, and her Congregation, and that love and commitment never wavered.
Ann Lucille will be missed by all of us, but we rejoice that she is now at home with her God and enjoying eternal life with her parents Catherine and Peter, her sisters, Mary and Catherine, and her brother, Peter, who preceded her in death. No doubt they are celebrating a joyous reunion today in heaven.
Our prayers are with her nieces and nephew, Sharon, Kathleen, and Pete, and their families, her Band members, and all who knew and loved Ann Lucille. We ask the God of all consolation to comfort them at this time of loss.
And so, let us pray now in deep gratitude…..
O God of compassion and kindness we are here today with hearts filled with gratitude as we celebrate the precious life of Sister Ann Lucille Bohn. Sister was devoted to God, the congregation, her family and all those she served. She ministered as an educator, a pastoral minister, a market assistant, and a prayer minister in her sixty-six years of ministry.
Those who were fortunate enough to live in community with Ann Lucille recall her welcoming spirit, her wonderful, infectious laugh and her generosity. She had a special gift of lifting the hearts of all, especially the sick and the homebound to whom she ministered. Gratitude was Ann Lucille’s hallmark and she often expressed her gratitude to God, to her family, and to her friends.
We pray today in remembrance of her parents, Catherine and Peter and for her sisters, Mary and Catherine, and her brother, Peter, all of whom preceded her in death. No doubt they are celebrating a joyous reunion today in heaven.
Our prayers are with her nieces and nephew, Sharon, Kathleen, and Pete, and their families, her Band members, and all who knew and loved Ann Lucille. We ask the God of all consolation to comfort them at this time of loss.
It is at this time that we return our Sister Ann Lucille to the God she loved and served so well throughout her entire life.
Eternal rest grant unto her O Lord…
Sr. Ann Lucille Bohn, IHM, Funeral 10/15/14
Good morning. As we gather in prayer to celebrate the life of Sr. Ann Lucille, I want to welcome all of her family and friends who are able to be with us today.
I especially want to thank Father Blake, who is with us this morning and who is such a great friend to all of us at the IHM Center and OLP.
We want to thank in a special way, Srs. Jean, Eleanor Mary, and Mary Kay, the administrators here at Our Lady of Peace and the wonderful staff, as well as the employees of Geisinger LIFE who gave Sister Ann Lucille the highest quality of life possible until her final day with us.
For sixty-six years of religious life, Ann Lucille witnessed her dedication to God and to serving others. She ministered as an educator, a pastoral minister, a market assistant, and a prayer minister in Maryland, New York, and Pennsylvania. Her versatility and freedom of spirit came from a family who loved and nurtured her and who instilled in her a deep faith in and love of God. That faith and love never wavered even later on when she suffered the loss of her hearing and much of her sight. The words of the antiphon we sang during yesterday’s prayer service are so true of Ann Lucille: “Trust in the Lord, you shall not tire…For the Lord’s own strength will uphold you.”
Those who were fortunate enough to live or minister with Ann Lucille recall her welcoming spirit, her integrity, her wonderful, infectious laugh, and her generosity. As I learned yesterday, her joyous spirit was evidenced in the rather unique (intriguing!) outfits she would often wear and also by the many wonderful friends she made wherever she served. Ann Lucille had a special gift of lifting the hearts of all, especially the sick and the homebound to whom she so lovingly ministered and who so appreciated her visits. Her abiding love of God, her family, and her Congregation was evident to all.
Ann Lucille will be missed by all of us, but we rejoice that she is now at home with her God and enjoying eternal life with her parents Catherine and Peter, her sisters, Mary and Catherine, and her brother, Peter, who preceded her in death. I’m quite sure they are all celebrating a joyous reunion today in heaven.
We remember today very specially Ann Lucille’s family: her neice,Sharon, and her husband, Joe, and daughter, Kelly; her neice, Kathleen, and her husband, Jim; and her nephew, Pete; all her extended family; her Band members, and all who knew and loved her. We ask the God of all consolation to comfort them in this time of loss.
Kathleen will now place the scriptures on Ann Lucille’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 her home.
Reprinted from "In Memoriam" section of Journey, Spring 2015 issue
Sister Ann Lucille and I lived together for one year at St. Mary’s in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. She taught intermediate and I taught primary. I know we talked about her work especially when she was hired at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, Maryland. She was concerned about reaching the people to whom she would be ministering. I knew the hospital would be blessed to have her as minister and I encouraged her to do it.
In 1979-80 Sister Ann was a ministry student; 1982-1991, a pastoral associate (Takoma Park, Maryland); 1991-1998, pastoral minister in Syracuse, New York; 2001-2004, pastoral visitor in Carbondale, Pennsylvania. She brought to her ministry a loving heart and a genuine caring and concern for everyone.
She herself had serious health problems in her life which she turned into a positive outlook when dealing with people. In 2006, after many years of teaching and hospital/pastoral ministry, Sister Ann came to the Marian Convent.
There was a time when I was a companion for the Marian Convent and Our Lady of Peace Residence. I accompanied the sisters to doctors’ appointments and this is how we met again. Sister Ann and I had many interesting experiences. We had made an agreement: she would waive privacy, we would write a book, and I would illustrate our adventures. We often reminisced about those trips in her household dining room at breakfast or lunch. First, she would ask how I was doing, how my brother was and how we didn’t see each other as often as when I was a companion.
One trip we took was to Moses Taylor Hospital. We ended up across the street by mistake. I inquired in one of the offices about getting over to the hospital, explaining that Sister Ann was in a wheelchair. The receptionist said, “Go out, cross the parking lot and go down the hill and across the street.” I told Sister Ann I was going to check this out. The street and sidewalk beside the building went straight down for three blocks. What was the receptionist thinking? I told Sister Ann not to worry, and I walked over to the hospital downhill and a transport person came back with me and showed me a short cut. Later I told Sister Ann about the hill we didn’t go down.
Another time, another hospital. We had been told beforehand to go directly to the second floor. It was seven o’clock, not a person on the floor, gift shop closed, no one to ask and no place in the hall for Sister Ann to sit while I looked for someone to help us. We felt like we were in the twilight zone. We never were able to write or illustrate the book but we had many great laughs over our misadventures.
I will miss her company, our storytelling, and especially her wonderful laugh.
by Sister Johnice Grand, IHM
Sister Ann Lucille Bohn was a fun-loving and joyful Sister of IHM who enjoyed telling stories and listening to stories. She had a great sense of humor.
I got to know Sister Ann first when I was in Oyster Bay, New York, doing my student teaching. I was only there six weeks, but I will always remember Sister Ann Lucille’s beautiful smile.
One of her activities was reading the daily newspaper from front to back and enjoying everything she read. Sister Ann enjoyed the comics, and because she was from Scranton, she especially liked to read about people she knew.
Sister Ann enjoyed beautiful clothes. She would wear flower prints and a variety of colors and always noticed people and what they wore. She loved butterflies, the sign of the resurrection. She had pictures of them in her room and wore butterflies on her suit or dress.
Sister Ann Lucille loved people. As a pastoral minister, she listened to people and prayed for them. She ministered to sick people, listening to them with a healing touch and a loving heart.
She was always gracious when anyone met her. She would always say “thank you” for what the person did for her, even if it was a small thing.
Sister Ann always had time for others. She would welcome visitors who came in to share stories with her. One day she called me by name to come and visit her. She talked about the past and held my hand all the time she spoke. A few days after our wonderful visit, God called Sister Ann home.
by Sister Patricia Hauser, IHM
