Sister M. Gillet Beach, IHM
Sister M. Gillet Beach, IHM, of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary died on Thursday, January 10, 2013, at Our Lady of Peace Residence in Scranton, PA.
She was born on November 28, 1912, in Altoona, PA, and given the name Dorothy. She was the daughter of the late Ralph D. and Alice Byrnes Beach. She entered the IHM Congregation on February 2, 1935, made her temporary profession of vows on August 2, 1937, and final profession of her vows on August 1, 1940.
Sister Gillet served as a teacher at the following schools: St. Rosalia Elementary School in Pittsburgh, PA, from 1937 to 1944; St. Bernardine Elementary School in Baltimore, MD, from 1944 to 1961; St. John the Evangelist Elementary School in Silver Spring, MD, from 1961 to 1967; St. Rita Elementary School in Baltimore, MD, from 1967 to 1969; and St. John the Baptist Elementary School in Silver Spring, MD, from 1972 to 1984.
Sister also served as librarian at the following schools: St. John the Evangelist Elementary School in Clinton, MD, from 1984 to 1985; St. John the Evangelist Elementary School in Bellefonte, PA, from 1986 to 1988; and at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Elementary School in Rocky Mount, NC, from 1988 to 1993.
Sister Gillet was a receptionist at the IHM Center in Scranton, PA, from 1985 to 1986 and 1997 to 2006. She served as an instructor at Holy Rosary Elementary School in Scranton, PA, from 1993 to 1996; and at the Educational Enrichment Institute at the IHM Center in Scranton, PA, from 1996 to 1997.
From 2006 until the time of her death, Sister Gillet was a prayer minister at Our Lady of Peace Residence in Scranton.
She received a Bachelor of Science degree in education from Marywood College.
She was preceded in death by a sister, Regina B. George.
She is survived by grandnieces.
The funeral will be Tuesday, January 15, 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, January 14, between 3:00 p.m. and 6:00 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.
Reprinted from "In Memoriam" section of Journey, Spring 2013 issue
Sister Gillet Beach was a gentle, kind and interesting person. She was born and raised in Altoona. She was proud to inform
people that Altoona was known as a railroad center in Eastern Pennsylvania. Sister always reminded us that the area of her birth was
called the "Holy Mountains", so named because the largest number of religious vocations came from there.
Sister had a very keen mind and retentive memory and fell in love with the history and geography of her world. She was a social
studies teacher from the word go. During her early years, she continued to help young people to become acquainted with their world
as she shared her love of it. Sisters in Pittsburgh, Maryland, and Scranton still share some of the interesting adventures she shared
with them in the library sessions and after school programs.
In the early seventies sister had to be on home ministry with a widowed sister, and for a number of years, she assisted in parish
ministry and school libraries. Travel became a part of her and her sister’s agenda.
When the IHM Center installed the first console in the early 1980s, Sister Gillet was right there to work it. From 1988 to 1993 she
was the librarian in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.
Sister Gillet was a generous, kind, and easy person to live with. She loved being an IHM; she also loved children, dogs, and families.
She loved candy, especially chocolate, and I was happy when I could remind her that she was my third grade teacher and that I loved her.
by Sister Mary Mark Lowery, IHM
