Sister Elizabeth Grace, IHM
Sister Elizabeth Grace, IHM, (formerly known as Sister M. Isidore) of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary died on Tuesday, November 25, 2014, at Our Lady of Peace Residence in Scranton, PA.
She was born on July 15, 1917, in Pittston, PA. She was the daughter of the late John J. and Margaret Reddington Grace. She entered the IHM Congregation on September 8, 1936, made her temporary profession of vows on May 8, 1939, and her final profession of vows on August 2, 1942.
Sister Elizabeth served as a teacher at the following schools: St. Joseph Elementary School in Williamsport, PA, from 1939 to 1940; Most Holy Rosary Elementary School in Syracuse, NY, from 1940 to 1945; St. Rose Elementary School in Carbondale, PA, from 1945 to 1948; St. Leo Elementary School in Ashley, PA, from 1948 to 1952 and 1980 to 1985; Holy Rosary Elementary School in Scranton, PA, from 1952 to 1954; St. Cecilia Elementary School in Exeter, PA, from 1954 to 1955; Sacred Heart Elementary School in Mount Holly, NJ, from 1955 to 1961; Our Lady of Mount Carmel Elementary School in Asbury Park, NJ, from 1961 to 1965; Little Flower Elementary School in Bethesda, MD, from 1965 to 1975; St. Matthew Elementary School in East Stroudsburg, PA, from 1975 to 1980; St. Thomas Aquinas Elementary School in Archbald, PA, from 1985 to 1990; St. Mary of Mount Carmel Elementary School in Dunmore, PA, from 1990 to 1991; and St. Joseph Elementary School in Williamsport, PA, from 1991 to 1998. She also served as an instructor at the IHM Educational Enrichment Institute at the IHM Center in Scranton, PA, from 1998 to 2005.
From 2005 until the time of her death, Sister Elizabeth served as a prayer minister at the Marian Convent and Our Lady of Peace Residence, both located in Scranton.
She received a Bachelor of Science degree in education from Marywood College.
She was preceded in death by four brothers, Thomas J., Paul J., Robert A. and John, and two sisters, Miriam Callahan and Ruth Grace.
She is survived by nieces and nephews.
The funeral will be Tuesday, December 2, 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 Monday, December 1, 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 Tuesday 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
Sister Elizabeth Grace, Wake 12/1/14
Good afternoon, Sisters and Friends,
We gather this afternoon to celebrate the beautiful gift of the life of Sister Elizabeth Grace. Our hearts are full of gratitude for this special woman who served God so faithfully throughout her life.
During her seventy-six years of religious life, Betty witnessed her love and dedication to God and to serving others. She taught in elementary schools in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and Maryland and in our own IHM Education Enrichment Institute for seven years. For the past nine years, Betty served as a prayer minister at the Marian Convent and here at Our Lady of Peace. I am told by those who lived with her that though Betty’s eyesight was not the best, she missed nothing that was going on; if you wanted to know the latest news or what was happening, Betty was the one to see! I also have it on good authority that when she lived at St. Leo’s in Ashley, Betty’s daily after school bus trips to Boscov’s in Wilkes-Barre and back home before evening office were legendary. Her “daily Boscoving” qualified her for free gifts for almost everyone on her Christmas list!
We rejoice in the gift of Betty’s life with us. Her days among us spoke of her trust in God and her love for her family and friends, her IHM Congregation, and especially the young students to whom she ministered and for whom she had untiring devotion. Her students, their parents, her fellow teachers, and all who knew her saw a woman always ready with a quip or a word of comfort whenever needed. Her kindness, dedication, and joyful, gracious manner endeared her to all.
Betty 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 Margaret and John, her sisters, Miriam and Ruth, and her brothers, Thomas, Paul, Robert, and John, who are now reunited with her as she is welcomed into the joy of eternal life by the God she loved and served so well.
Our prayers are with her nieces, Mary, Ruthanne, Betty, Joan, and Barbara, and her nephews, and grand-nephew, Jim, and their families; and all who knew and loved Elizabeth. We ask the God of all consolation to comfort them at this time of loss.
And so, let us pray now in deep gratitude…..
God of compassion and kindness, we gather today in deep gratitude for the life of our Sister Elizabeth. Her presence among us was a constant reminder of your gentle and unconditional love for us. Her kindness toward others and her joyful, hospitable spirit were the hallmarks of her life spent in service of her God, her family, and all those she met.
Betty was eternally grateful for the gift of life and especially her life in community. Those fortunate enough to live and work with her knew the depth of her support and generosity. Her capacity to love others was rooted in her love of you, O God, and she shared that love tirelessly.
Her young students knew her kindness and boundless joy, which was infectious. Teachers who served with her experienced her untiring work ethic and her loving patience with them, her students, and their parents. She was a special gift and all who taught with her or who were taught by her knew it.
We pray today in remembrance of Elizabeth’s parents, Margaret and John, and for her sisters, Miriam and Ruth, and her brothers, Thomas, Paul, Robert, and John, 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 nephews and their families today very specially, and all who knew and loved Betty. We ask the God of all consolation to comfort them at this time of loss.
We return our Sister Elizabeth to the God she loved and served so well throughout her entire life. May her example lead all of us to understand the simple power of loving others as you, our God, love us.
Grant eternal rest to Betty, O Lord, and may your everlasting light shine upon her forever. Amen.
Sister Elizabeth Grace, Funeral 12/2/14
Good morning, Everyone. As we gather in prayer to celebrate the life of Sr. Elizabeth Grace, I want to welcome her nieces, Mary, Ruthanne, Betty, Joan, and Barbara, her nephews and their families, her grand-nephew, Jim, and all her relatives and friends who are able to be with us today.
I would like to thank Monsignor Ward and Father Tylenda for being here with us today. I know Betty is delighted with your presence and we so appreciate your being with us.
I also want to express thanks to Srs. Jean, Eleanor Mary, and Mary Kay, the administrators here at OLP, and the entire OLP staff for their constant care and support of Betty. I want to thank the staff of LIFE Geisinger, for their care and the joy they added to Betty’s life; she truly enjoyed her time there.
My soul sings and my spirit delights and rejoices, O faithful God.
These words from Ann Johnson’s Magnificat of Resurrection, which we recited at her wake yesterday, speak so clearly to me of the beautiful gift of life Betty was for us. We are filled with deep gratitude for this special woman whose love of God absolutely overflowed into everyone she met. Hers was a spirit that simply delighted in the joy of life itself, and she carried that love everywhere she went.
We recall the ways Betty lived and ministered among us as aunt, sister, friend, companion, and teacher. During her seventy-six years as an IHM, she taught in schools in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and Maryland and in our Education Enrichment Institute at the IHM Center. She also served as a prayer minister at the Marian Convent and here at Our Lady of Peace. As I mentioned yesterday, poor eyesight and all, Betty missed nothing that was going on and was happy to share that news with everyone. I think that’s another quality she had that others so appreciated: Betty loved to connect with people. She loved community and she created community by her gracious, joyful spirit. Of course, she did have an adventure or two during her life. Her daily after school bus trips from St. Leo’s in Ashley to Boscov’s in Wilkes-Barre and back home again in time for evening office were legendary – by getting her Boscov card punched each day, she qualified for free gifts, which of course she gave away to others.
So we rejoice in the gift of Betty’s life, which spoke so beautifully of her trust and love for God, her family, her friends, her IHM Congregation, and especially the young students to whom she ministered with great devotion. Students, parents, fellow teachers, and all who knew her saw a woman who cared deeply about others. Her kindness, dedication, and joyful, gracious manner endeared her to all and will be missed by us.
We pause this morning to remember Betty’s parents, Margaret and John, her sisters, Miriam and Ruth, and her brothers, Thomas, Paul, Robert, and John, with whom she is celebrating their reunion today in heaven. We pray for all those who will miss her caring presence, especially her nieces and nephews and their families, all her relatives, the sisters here at OLP, her many IHM friends, and all who knew and loved her. We ask the God of all consolation to comfort them all in this time of loss.
____ will now place the scriptures on Elizabeth’s casket, for indeed 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 Elizabeth Grace was born in Pittston, Pennsylvania. Her parents were blessed with seven children, three girls and four boys. If you ever met any of them, you would know they had a loving upbringing in the Catholic faith. I never lived with Betty but traveled with her from Silver Spring and dropped her off at her family home on William Street. Believe me, there was much joy and excitement when she was home for her holiday visits.
Sister Betty attended school at St. John the Evangelist Elementary and High School. This is where she had the good fortune to experience the love and wonderful education of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. After graduation from high school, she entered the novitiate. Following her years of formation, she was sent on mission to teach. She taught in the states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, and in Washington, DC. Sister Betty spent her teaching days as a primary teacher. She had second grade most of her teaching career and she enjoyed every minute of it. She especially enjoyed preparing her students for the sacraments of Penance and Eucharist. If you saw her memorial card you would note that the prayer on the back was the prayer to our Guardian Angel.
Sister Betty also had many talents and gifts. She taught summer vacation school in Martinsville, Virginia. Being artistic, she designed banners for the church. The pastor, Father John Munley, was very appreciative of her artistic work. The little ones enjoyed her kindness, love, and patience every day. Most of all she taught them her own beautiful love of God and his Blessed Mother.
When Sister Betty came to the IHM Center she belonged to the Sacred Heart Community and began ministry in the Education Enrichment Institute program. She enjoyed teaching reading and math to the younger children. Due to health problems, she had to move to the Marian Convent and then to Our Lady of Peace Residence. She participated in the Life Geisinger program and loved going to the activities there.
I asked a few friends who had been touched by Sister Betty’s life to share a memory in this reflection. Sister Kathleen Hassett was taught by Sister Elizabeth in second grade at Most Holy Rosary School in Syracuse. When she would visit Sister Betty at Our Lady of Peace Residence, they sometimes walked down memory lane and recalled some of the happy times in that second grade classroom. Sister Kathleen especially remembers Sister Elizabeth’s kind, gentle manner with each child and the love and admiration that the children had for her.
Liz O’Brien, who worked at the Marian Convent, was a great friend of Sister Betty’s. She noted, “I invited Sister Elizabeth to my wedding but she was not able to attend for health reasons so she asked that I come to visit her on that day and show her my gown. So the entire wedding party visited Sister Elizabeth and she was delighted to see all of us. We had our picture taken with her that day and I treasure that picture in my wedding album.”
Sister Jeanne Albrittain ministers at Our Lady of Peace in the household where Sister Betty was a resident. When Sister Betty was invited to her sister Ruth’s 100th birthday, she didn’t know how she would make it to that celebration but she did not want to miss the great occasion for her dear sister Ruth. Sister Jeanne arranged to take her in her wheelchair and be her companion for the special event. Both enjoyed a glorious family gathering and all were delighted that their dear Sister Betty was there to celebrate.
Sister Betty did enjoy fun times. We had a great trip to Ireland in 1975. She was enthralled with kissing the Blarney Stone.
I must not forget to say that she loved bingo, lottery tickets, and raffles at the picnics. Of course, it was always for charity, you know, but the truth is Sister Betty loved to win.
Thank you, Sister Betty, for your ninety-seven years of life. May all those whose hearts you touched pray with you now:
“Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God’s love commits me here, ever this day, be at my side to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen.”
by Sister Annellen Kelley, IHM
