Sister M. Immaculate Keefe, IHM
Sister M. Immaculate Keefe, IHM, of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary died on Friday, March 16, 1951.
She was born on July 5, 1880 in Athens, Pennsylvania, and was the daughter of the late Marcus and Mary Pyne Keefe. She entered the IHM Congregation on July 1, 1904, received the religious habit on December 8, 1906, and made profession of her vows on December 27, 1906.
Sister Immaculate enjoyed her years of teaching children in our IHM mission schools, including at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Elementary School in Altoona, PA.
She is preceded in death by three brothers, David, John, and Willie (infant), and two sisters, Mary and Margaret (infant).
She is survived by a sister, Anna of Athens, PA.
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.
"In 1910 the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart were asked to take charge of the parochial school of our Lady of Mount Carmel in Altoona. Right Reverend Bishop Garvey had recently formed a new parish in the heart of the Italian District of Altoona and had given the charge of the parish to the Fathers of the Third Order Regulars of Saint Francis. The Very Reverend Jerome Zazzara, T.O.R., D.D., who was at the time Provincial of the Order, was appointed pastor. He built a parochial school, and at Bishop Garvey's suggestion applied for the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart. The work was entrusted to Sister M. Edward, who with Sister M. Henrietta, Sister M. Dositheus, Sister M. Leonard, Sister M. Cosmas, Sister M. Immaculate, Sister Anna Maria, and Sister M. Stephanie arrived in Altoona on August 21, 1911.
The school was opened in September, 1911. The opening Mass was celebrated by the Right Reverend Bishop. Three hundred pupils were enrolled on opening day. The school proved inadequate to accommodate the ever-increasing number, and a new school more modern in its appointments, was erected in the second year.
Excerpted from The Sisters of the I.H.M.: The Story of The Founding of The Congregation of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and Their Work In The Scranton Diocese by Sister M. Immaculata Gillespie, IHM, P.J. Kenedy & Sons, NY, 1921, p.321, 322
