Sister Mary Thomasina Gallagher, IHM
Sister Mary Thomasina Gallagher, IHM, of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary died on Friday, April 22, 1960 at the Marian Convent in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
She was born on January 3, 1878 in Parsons, Pennsylvania, and given the name Mary E. She was the daughter of the late Patrick and Bridget McNulty Gallagher. She entered the IHM Congregation on December 8, 1897, received the religious habit on July 23, 1898, and made profession of her vows on December 31, 1900.
Sister Mary Thomasina served as a teacher at the following schools: St. John the Evangelist Elementary School in Pittston, PA, from 1900 to 1905 and 1910 to 1925; St. Paul Elementary School in Scranton, PA, from 1905 to 1910; Immaculate Conception Elementary School in West Pittston, PA, from 1945 to 1950; and St. Cecilia Elementary School in Exeter, PA, from 1950 to 1956.
Sister served as principal at the following schools: St. Mary of the Assumption Elementary School in Upper Marlboro, MD, from 1925 to 1929; St. Joseph Elementary School in Danville, PA, from 1931 to 1937 and 1939 to 1945; and Epiphany Elementary School in Sayre, PA, from 1937 to 1939.
Sister Mary Thomasina was a member of the leadership team for the IHM Congretation in Scranton, PA, from 1929 to 1931.
From 1956 until the time of her death, she served as a prayer minister at the Marian Convent.
She is survived by a sister, Margaret Neary of Hanover Township, PA, a niece and a nephew.
Interment is at St. Catherine’s Cemetery in Moscow, Pennsylvania.
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.
Archival remembrance:
Thousands of men and women were taught by Sister Mary Thomasina, in her nearly sixty years of teaching. She was a thorough, efficient teacher who knew well that learning should be the outcome of teaching. Moreover, besides her school duties, she spent herself in the meticulous care of church sanctuaries, especially in the upper and the lower church of St. John's, Pittston. She served our Congregation generously and well. Hers was a generous, self-forgetting service which asked for no reward save that which God gives to His good servants. Her last years were marked by suffering which she patiently bore. Her holy life and her patient endurance of labor and suffering will be long and affectionately remembered. May God's reward to Sister M. Thomasina be exceeding great.
