Obituary

 

Sister Gloria Frank, IHM

Sister Gloria Frank, IHM, (formerly known as Sister M. Bernardinus) of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary died on Sunday, August 18, 2019 at Our Lady of Peace Residence in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

She was born on June 26, 1931, in Baltimore, MD. She was the daughter of the late Oscar and Marie Vitek Frank. She entered the IHM Congregation on September 7, 1950, made temporary profession of her vows on August 2, 1953, and final profession of her vows on August 3, 1956. 

Sister Gloria served as a teacher at the following schools: Mt. Holly Regional Catholic Grammar School in Mt. Holly, NJ, from 1953 to 1954; St. Mary Elementary School in Manhasset, NY, from 1954 to 1959; Holy Rosary High School in Scranton, PA, from 1959 to 1966; Dunmore Central Catholic High School in Dunmore, PA, from 1966 to 1968; Academia Cristo Rey in Ponce, Puerto Rico, from 1968 to 1970; and Maria Regina Diocesan High School in Uniondale, NY, from 1970 to 1974.

Sister also served as intern director of retreats at Mariandale Spiritual Renewal Center in Ossining, NY, from 1974 to 1975; vice president of student affairs at Marywood College in Scranton, PA, from 1975 to 1981; director of affiliates for the IHM Congregation in Scranton, PA, from 1981 to 1986; director and house manager for St. Joseph’s Center-Walsh Manor in Carbondale, PA, from 1986 to 1989; director and guidance counselor for St. Joseph’s Center-Walsh Manor in Scranton, PA, from 1989 to 1995; clinical counselor at Catholic Family and Community Services in Paterson, NJ, in 1995; youth minister at St. Catherine of Siena Parish in Cedar Grove, NY, from 1996 to 1997; pastoral minister at Holy Rosary Indian Mission in Philadelphia, MS, from 1997 to 2006; spiritual director/retreat director at IHM Spiritual Renewal Center in Cresco, PA, from 2006 to 2013; volunteer at St. Joseph’s Center Mother Infant Home in Scranton, PA, from 2014 to 2015; and volunteer at St. Joseph’s Center Adult Day Program in Dunmore, PA, from 2016 to 2018.

From 2018 until the time of her death, Sister Gloria was a prayer minister at Our Lady of Peace Residence in Scranton.

She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in chemistry/Latin from Marywood College, a Master of Arts in Teaching Science - Physics from the University of Detroit, and a Master of Arts in counseling from Marywood College.

She is survived by a brother, Robert and wife, Janet, of Albuquerque, NM, cousins, and by the members of the IHM Congregation.

The funeral will be Thursday, August 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 Wednesday, August 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 Thursday 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/123644155

Vespers: https://video.ibm.com/recorded/123628879


Reprinted from "In Memoriam" section of Journey, Fall 2019 issue 

Reflection given by Sister Ellen Maroney, IHM Congregation President

Sister Gloria Frank, IHM, funeral on August 22. 2019

Good morning, Everyone.

As we gather this morning to celebrate the life of Sister Gloria, I want to welcome very specially her cousins, Christine and Paul and Paul’s wife, Debbie, and their daughter, Sara, who are here with us, Gloria’s IHM sisters, especially her dear friend, our Sister Nancy Hawkins, and those who lived with her here in 2B, her Mission Circle and Band members, our Associates, and all whose lives she touched in so many wonderful ways.  In particular we welcome Gloria’s brother, Robert, his wife, Janet, and other family members and all others who join us via livestream today.

I am very happy to welcome and thank our celebrant, Monsignor Tom Banick, a long-time friend of Gloria’s and of the IHM congregation.

I also would like to express thanks to Sisters Mary Kay and Kate and Jamie Mancuso, the administrators here at OLP, and the OLP pastoral and nursing staffs for their loving care and support of Gloria.

 

“O God, You have taken me like clay and formed my life.

You have given shape to my hopes and dreams. . .

I praise You for having loved me enough to create life within me. . .

I ask that You use me to bring new life and joy to all Your people.”

Excerpt from Prayer Found in Gloria’s Bible

 

These words from a prayer Gloria kept in her bible reflect her utter trust in and love for the God who was the center of her life. They also offer consolation to us who contemplate anew the mystery of a Divine Love who called Gloria home last Sunday with an immediacy that our human hearts struggle to grasp still but which our hearts of faith can only yearn for.  During this week, and yesterday at the wake service, some wonderful stories have been shared about Gloria’s generosity, compassion, energy, persistence, humor, and love for her family, her IHM community, and all those with and to whom she ministered.  She inspired us with her friendship and counsel, awakened us to many causes for justice and peace, especially on behalf of the most vulnerable among us, blessed us with her unshakeable trust in God’s love and compassion for all, and reminded us of the inherent value of joy and laughter.  She taught us valuable lessons which remain deep in our minds and hearts, not to be forgotten.

So today we give gratitude for the life of Gloria and the countless ways she shared life and love with us as sister, friend, teacher, formation director, counselor, pastoral minister, spiritual guide, advocate for young mothers, grief minister, and so much more during her sixty-six years of religious life. Her students heard her voice of gentle but firm reasoning mixed with kindness, humor, and an eternal belief in the potential of each.  As a pastoral minister, spiritual director, and counselor, she shared her enthusiasm, generosity, dedication, and deep reverence for each individual person.  Gloria had a special gift for mentoring others in the faith and in the study of scripture, and for encouraging those she taught to be mentors as well.  Her ministry for almost ten years with the Choctaw Indians in Mississippi was a particular joy and blessing to her; she considered this experience a life-changing one.

Gloria’s trust in God and her great gratitude for all that God and life gave her defined each day of her life. To know her was to be enveloped in total unconditional love, topped off always with wide, animated eyes and the brightest, welcoming smile.  She was a people-person, an engager, who saw each person through the lens of her own experience of a compassionate, loving God.  Her relationships were authentic, as attested to by the number of people here today and yesterday from so many of her former places of ministry.  Gloria had a zest for life - things were never dull or quiet around Gloria, and we loved that about her. She shared her many gifts with honesty, passion, sensitivity, courage, and a great sense of humor.  She challenged us to keep searching for our true selves and to know the gift we are meant to be to others because that gift is special and needed in this world.  She wanted the best for and from us all because that was what God desired.  Indeed, Gloria’s legacy to us might be as simple and as profound as that statement. 

So we give thanks for the gift of Gloria’s life with us. We remember very specially today Gloria’s parents, Marie and Oscar, who welcomed her home in the fullness of life last Sunday morning.  We ask God to fill with hope and peace the hearts of her brother, Robert, his wife, Janet, her cousins, Christine and Paul, and his wife, Debbie, all her loving relatives, her IHM sisters, especially her loving friend, Nancy, and those who lived with her in Household 2B here at Our Lady of Peace, the staff and administrators here, and all with whom Gloria shared life.

For her family and those who knew Gloria, she truly was “one of a kind” and a cherished blessing in our lives. Knowing her love for the Choctaw Indians with whom she ministered, I did some research and found the following Choctaw prayer which I think captures the way Gloria strove to live her life and might also serve as a fitting tribute to her lasting place in our hearts: 

“O Great Spirit Father, who sits on high beyond the heavens,
Creator of all life,. . . please hear our spiritual prayer.
For we seek guidance in a world where few can lay claim to eternal peace.

Grant us the vision to see beyond tomorrow's horizon . . .
Give us the strength to rise each day and breathe the breath of life
that you have provided for us.

Touch our spiritual soul, so that we may use every moment to spread your sacred
message of love and peace for all.
Help us to understand and accept that we are of one body and one God,
as each spirit flows, from one to another, in a sacred hoop.
 

Teach us, O Great One, the true lesson of life, its sacred
message of love, to spread freely beyond self, and among our
brothers and sisters throughout the duration of our earthly existence.

May your spirit continue to heal and instill within us the meaning of
this spiritual prayer, and trust that we use it to serve you well.  Amen.”
                                                                                                                             
Choctaw Prayer

For sure, Gloria embodied the deep meaning of this prayer and so served God and our world very well. May her example continue to inspire, energize, and guide us always.

I now ask Nancy to place the bible on Gloria’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 Gloria home.

Anthropologist theorize that the Mississippi ancestors of the Choctaw placed the sun at the center of their cosmological system.  Choctaws viewed the sun as a being endowed with life. Choctaw diplomats, for example, spoke only on sunny days. If the day of a conference were cloudy or rainy, Choctaws delayed the meeting until the sun returned, usually on the pretext that they needed more time to discuss particulars. The sun made sure that all talks were honest.    (Greg O'Brien, Choctaws in a Revolutionary Age, 1750-1830)