Sister M. Adelaide Byrne, IHM
Sister M. Adelaide Byrne of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, died Monday, March 26, 1984, at the Marian Convent in Scranton, Pennsylvania, after an extended illness.
She was born on October 6, 1902 in Ireland, and was the daughter of the late William and Margaret Lawler Byrne. She entered the IHM Congregation on September 8, 1932, received the religious habit on April 24, 1933, and made profession of her vows on April 30, 1935.
At Marywood College in Scranton, PA, Sister Adelaide served as secretary to the president, and then secretary to the dean the College, for a period of thirty-five years.
From 1979 until the time of her death, Sister Adelaide served as a prayer minister at the Marian Convent.
She is survived by two brothers, Linus of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and William of Olean, New York, nieces and nephews, including Reverend James Byrne of Lewiston, Pennsylvania.
The funeral will be Thursday with Mass of Christian Burial in the Marian Convent Chapel at 10:30 a.m. Interment will follow at St. Catherine's Cemetery, Moscow, Pennsylvania. Friends may call at the Marian Convent on Wednesday 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
