Sister Gilmary Beagle, IHM
Sister Gilmary (Barbara) Beagle, IHM, of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, died June 18, 2015 at Our Lady of Peace Residence in Scranton, PA after a courageous battle with cancer. She was born December 11, 1944, in Danville, PA, the daughter of Thomas H. and Catherine H. Beagle.
Sister graduated from St. Cyril Academy, earned a Bachelor’s Degree from Cabrini College and a Master’s Degree in English from Purdue University.
Sister Gilmary was the consummate teacher, it was her passion! She taught at Andrean High School in Gary, IN, St. Dominic High School, Oyster Bay, NY, Notre Dame High School in Stroudsburg, PA, Bishop Hannon High School in Scranton, Holy Cross High School in Delran, NJ and York Catholic High School in York, PA. She also led many trips to England with her students.
Sister celebrated her 50th Jubilee this year in May in Scranton. A huge Notre Dame fan, she was fortunate to have been able to attend several football games in South Bend with some of her former students from Andrean.
She was a voracious reader being especially fond of anything British as well as the World Wars and the Civil War. She was a great writer, contributing many stories to Journey, an IHM publication. She also co-authored several teachers’ instruction books at the Center for Learning in Cleveland, OH.
She loved her home in Riverside and always looked forward to spending her summers and holidays there. She will be greatly missed by her sister, her wonderful neighbors in Riverside as well as her fellow teachers at York Catholic and hundreds of students on whom she made a great impact and the many that still keep in touch with her.
She is survived by her sister Cathy of Newtown, PA, her beloved dog Sam and nephew dog Cody who love her with all their hearts!
The funeral will be Wednesday, June 24, 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, June 23, between 3:00 p.m. and 5:30 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.
In lieu of flowers, donation may be made to York Catholic High School, 601 E. Springettsbury Avenue, York, PA 17403 or the SPCA, 2801 Bloom Road, Danville, PA 17821.
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.
Funeral: https://video.ibm.com/recorded/64737846
Vespers: https://video.ibm.com/recorded/64638083
Reprinted from "In Memoriam" section of Journey, Fall 2015 issue
When I remember Sister Gilmary Beagle, I think of the trip to England with some of the senior class in ’98. She loved her years studying at Oxford, and conveyed that love to the students and chaperones. She knew her way around London, and ours was not just a rubber stamp trip to a few selected tourist attractions. We were all told to get passes for the underground (I still have mine) and we learned to read the underground maps so we could visit places without the tour bus. I remember a small group of us on Holy Saturday evening outside the House of Parliament, overlooking the Thames. In Oxford there were colleges and streets I had read about, and was now walking down. A teacher on a previous trip had asked when they would see anything other than cathedrals. I loved Salisbury, Canterbury, St Paul’s, and Westminster. They were an important part of England.
Gilmary loved kids, and they loved her back. I was impressed with the busload of York students who came to her funeral in June, even though school was out for the year. I know she left her students at Holy Cross with a lasting appreciation of English language and literature.
Gilmary loved her family, which included the dogs. When her mother became ill, she stayed at home to care for her, allowing her sister to continue at her job. Then came her bouts with her own cancer, alternating between therapy at Geisinger and classes at York.
The alumni bulletin still comes in from Purdue with her name on it—and I look at it and remember her. She will always be a loved memory at Holy Cross.
by Sister Claudette Naylor, IHM
