Obituary

 

Sister M. Barbara DuMont, IHM

Sister M. Barbara DuMont, IHM, of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary died on Saturday, November 21, 2015, at Our Lady of Peace Residence in Scranton, PA.

She was born on August 15, 1925, in Spokane, WA, and given the name Barbara Mary. She was the daughter of the late Paul and Mildred Trimborn DuMont. She entered the IHM Congregation on February 2, 1944, and made her temporary profession of vows on August 2, 1946, and her final profession of vows on August 2, 1949.

Sister Barbara served as a teacher at the following schools: Central Catholic High School in Portland, OR, from 1946 to 1953; St. Joseph High School in Williamsport, PA, from 1953 to 1955; Academy of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Coeur d’Alene, ID, from 1955 to 1964; Most Holy Rosary High School in Syracuse, NY, from 1964 to 1971; Bishop Guilfoyle High School in Altoona, PA, from 1971 to 1975; and Immaculata High School in Kelowna, BC, Canada, from 1975 to 1981.

Sister also served as the Director of Religious Education at Sacred Heart Parish in Peckville, PA, from 1981 to 1990. She was the Western Sector Coordinator for the IHM Congregation from 1990 to 1998. She was an assistant in the Marian Community Hospital Pharmacy in Carbondale, PA, from 1998 to 2006.

From 2006 until the time of her death, Sister Barbara was a prayer minister at Our Lady of Peace Residence in Scranton.

She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and a Master of Science degree in education both from Marywood College, and a Master of Science degree in mathematics/biology from Idaho University.

She was preceded in death by five brothers, Dr. Clement, Frederick, John Paul, Matthew (Bill), and Jack, and a sister, Barbara.

She is survived by nieces and nephews, and the members of the IHM Congregation.  

The funeral will be Tuesday, November 24, 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, November 23, between 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. A prayer service will be held at 4:00 p.m. Interment will be at Osoyoos Cemetery in British Columbia, Canada, at a later date.

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/78395199

Vespers:  https://video.ibm.com/recorded/78343541


Reflection given by Sister Katie Clauss, IHM Congregation Vice-President and Councilor for Missioning and Community Life

Sister Barbara DuMont, IHM Funeral 11/24/15

Good morning! As we gather to celebrate and give thanks for the life of our Sister Barbara DuMont I would like to welcome Father James McGahagan, our celebrant, who worked with Sister at Sacred Heart Parish in Peckville, Sister’s faithful friends from New York, Paula and George Renous, her friends from Sacred Heart parish in Peckville, and her family and friends who join us online.

Now as we begin let us remember with gratitude Sister Barbara’s parents, Paul and Mildred, her brothers Jack, Frederick, John, Matthew, Clement and her sister Barbara who now welcome her home.

Sister Barbara, a native of British Columbia, first met IHM Sisters as a High School boarding student at the IHM Academy in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. She joined other valiant Western women who entered the congregation from the Pacific Northwest and began a life of service with a “joyful, loving, hospitable and self-emptying spirit, reflecting that humility and simplicity which present a clear and understandable witness to Christ, who welcomed everyone”. Those words are from our Mission Statement and don’t they reflect many of the comments about Sister Barbara that were shared during the wake service yesterday. Sister Barbara was a clear and understandable witness to Christ in community and in mission as a teacher, a religious educator, a leader, sister, and a friend. To each local community and ministry, she brought her desire to love people as God loves them, she brought her good sense of humor, her keen intelligence with a high dose of practicality, her compassionate heart that enabled her to listen well and respond with gentleness and kindness. We know that the gentleness and kindness that Sister Barbara extended to others returned to her one-hundred fold in her life here at Our Lady of Peace Residence.

I would like to thank Sisters Jean Coughlin, Eleanor Mary Marconi and Mary Kay Faliskie, our Administrators at OLP, Sister’s community members in household 2B, the staff at OLP and the LIFE Geisinger staff for your generosity and for the love you showered on Sister Barbara. We are grateful to each of you and all of you.  

Before concluding I want to make sure that you know that Sister Barbara will be buried with her family in British Columbia. At the end of the Liturgy we will move to the foyer outside the Chapel where the prayer of committal will be offered and the Salve Regina sung.

Paula Renous will now place the scripture on Sister Barbara’s coffin. It is open to the letter of James. In Chapter 3, verse 13 of James states: Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good lives and by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.”

Sister Barbara, your life gives meaning to this passage for us. We are grateful for your gifts of wisdom and understanding. You modeled for us how a good life and humble deeds flow from the wisdom nurtured by the Word of God. We believe that it is Jesus, God’s Word, who now welcomes you home.