Sister Maria del Rey Shevlin, IHM
Sister Maria del Rey Shevlin, IHM, of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary died on Monday, April 18, 2016, at Our Lady of Peace Residence in Scranton.
She was born on June 2, 1931, in Brooklyn, NY, and given the name Anna (Nancy). She was the daughter of the late George L. and Ann Mahon Shevlin. She entered the IHM Congregation on September 8, 1950, and made her temporary profession of vows on August 2, 1953, and her final profession of vows on August 2, 1956.
Sister Maria del Rey served as a teacher in the following schools: St. John the Evangelist Elementary School in Silver Spring, MD, from 1953 to 1956; South Scranton Catholic High School in Scranton, PA, from 1956 to 1967; and St. Mary High School in Manhasset, NY, from 1967 to 1975.
Sister served as assistant principal at Bishop O’Hara High School in Dunmore, PA, from 1975 to 1981; and principal at St. Dominic High School in Oyster Bay, NY, from 1981 to 1984.
She also served as assistant coordinator for the Scranton Diocesan Synod in Scranton, PA, from 1984 to 1986; coordinator of the strategic planning program at Catholic Schools Office in Scranton, PA, in 1986; assistant director of apostolic planning at the IHM Center in Scranton, PA, from 1986 to 1998; director of missioning resources at the IHM Center in Scranton, PA, from 1998 to 2006; and coordinator of data retention at St. Joseph’s Center in Scranton, PA, from 2006 to 2009.
From 2009 until the time of her death, Sister Maria del Rey served as a prayer minister at Our Lady of Peace Residence in Scranton.
She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in education from Marywood College and a Master of Arts degree in Spanish from the University of Notre Dame.
She is preceded in death by two infant siblings.
She is survived by a brother, George L. of Carlisle, PA; nephews; and the members of the IHM Congregation.
The funeral will be Friday, April 22, 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 Thursday, April 21, 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 Friday 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.
Funeral: https://video.ibm.com/recorded/85935385
Vespers: https://video.ibm.com/recorded/85908139
Reflection given by Sister Ellen Maroney, IHM Congregation President
Sister Maria del Rey Shevlin, from funeral on April 22, 2016
Let nothing disturb you. Let nothing frighten you. Whoever has God lacks nothing. God alone suffices.
- St. Theresa of Avila
This excerpt from the quote of Theresa of Avila on the back of Maria’s prayer card sums up so beautifully the focus of this good, holy woman throughout her life. During her almost 85 years, 64 of them as an IHM, she fashioned an amazing life grounded in an unwavering faith and trust in the God she loved.
A woman of many gifts, Maria was a much loved teacher and administrator in schools in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York for the first 31 years of her religious life. Her students and faculty appreciated her care and concern for each individual person
and her joy and gentle wisdom. After leaving her school ministry, Maria’s planning and organizational skills were called upon as she was asked to serve as coordinator, first, of the diocesan synod here in Scranton and then of the diocesan strategic planning
program. Both of these were very large undertakings, and her professionalism, dedication, and genuine humility were the guideposts that paved the way for success in both endeavors. Never one to rest on her laurels, Maria next responded to the Congregation’s
requests that she serve as assistant director of apostolic planning and later as director of missioning resources. Before coming to Our Lady of Peace, she also ministered as coordinator of data retention at St. Joseph’s Center.
Maria’s life was always “other - centered” – first on God, then on those with whom she lived and ministered, and those in need everywhere. Her focus was never on herself. She was a living example of St. Theresa’s words: “Let nothing disturb you. God
alone suffices.” At yesterday’s wake service, compliments flowed easily from those who knew her best: family members (even though George still holds it against her that she got to go to kindergarten and he didn’t!), and those who lived or ministered with Maria. All
of us rejoice in the gift of Maria’s life with us. She brought God’s love and joy into the lives of countless people, and all she did was accomplished with quiet and sincere dedication and an unassuming manner. Her love of music and her beautiful musical talent
brightened many a day for us. Maria’s integrity and trustworthiness drew others to her, and they were blessed to share the depth of her unwavering trust in God. Her capacity to love others was rooted in that love of God, and she shared that love tirelessly, faithfully,
and happily. To meet her was to know she was special.
We rejoice today that Maria is now at home with her God and enjoying eternal life with her parents, Ann and George, and other family members and friends, who are now reunited with her as she is welcomed into the joy of eternal life by the God she loved and
served so faithfully.
Our prayers are with her family; her IHM sisters, especially those with whom she lived and ministered; her countless friends, and the administrators and staff here at Our Lady of Peace, who took such wonderful care of Maria. We ask the God of all consolation to
comfort them at this time of loss.
Through the sharing of her love, fidelity, and giftedness, Maria was a blessing to family, friends, our IHM community, her students, and those she served in her ministries. We thank God for her. I suspect she has already asked and received God’s permission to form
a choral group or two with other IHMs in heaven and is singing mightily as we speak.
George will now place the scriptures on Maria’s casket, for Maria heard the Word of God, she staked her life upon it and received life to the full... the Word now beckons her home.
