Sister M. Francella Shaughnessy, IHM
Sister M. Francella Shaughnessy, IHM, of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary died on Tuesday, January 14, 2014, at Our Lady of Peace Residence in Scranton.
She was born on February 26, 1920, in Scranton, PA, and given the name Margaret. She was the daughter of the late John F. and Frances McGee Shaughnessy. She entered the IHM Congregation on September 8, 1938, and made her temporary profession of vows on May 8, 1941, and her final profession of vows on August 2, 1944.
Sister Francella served as a teacher in the following schools: St. Bernardine Elementary School in Baltimore, MD, from 1941 to 1942; Holy Name of Mary Parish School in Montrose, PA, from 1942 to 1950; Mt. Holly Regional Catholic High School in Mt. Holly, NJ, from 1950 to 1952; Cathedral Chapel School and High School in Scranton, PA, from 1952 to 1967; and at Marywood Seminary High School in Scranton, PA, from 1967 to 1968.
She served in the IHM Congregation as director of formation of new members from 1968 to 1974, and also as northern sector superior from 1978 to 1986.
Sister Francella also served at Marywood College in Scranton, PA, as: a speech therapist 1974 to 1978; tutoring coordinator from 1986 to 1991; academic advisor from 1991 to 1999; and as advisor to disabled students from 1999 to 2001.
Sister was a volunteer at Heartworks Gift Boutique at the Marian Convent in Scranton, PA, from 2001 to 2005.
From 2005 until the time of her death, Sister Francella was a prayer minister at the Marian Convent and at Our Lady of Peace Residence in Scranton.
She received a bachelor of science degree in special education from Marywood College and a master of arts degree in speech therapy from Marquette University.
She is preceded in death by two brothers, Msgr. Joseph and John F.; and four sisters, Frances, Mary Cawley, Jane Snyder, and Helen Philbin; a niece, Francella Jeffrey, and a nephew, John Shaughnessy.
She is survived by a niece, Sister Jane Snyder, IHM, of Scranton, PA; nieces and nephews; and grandnieces and grandnephews.
The funeral will be Saturday, January 18, at 9:30 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 Friday, January 17, between 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. A prayer service will be held at 4:00 p.m. Interment will follow Mass on Saturday 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 2014 issue 
“Life’s surprises are seedlings emerging through the concrete of our expectations and plans.”
I read this line in a meditation I was reading the day after Sister Francella died. I could not get over how relevant that thought was to the final chapter of Francella’s rich life. She would be the first one to tell you that six and a half years ago, as she busied herself preparing for another day, one of “life’s surprises” – a stroke - turned her life on a dime from being self-sufficient to being almost totally dependent on the care of others.
From her life as a child in a family with two brothers and four sisters who lived in her mother’s family home with their parents and three maiden aunts, I suspect she learned the give-and-take of life along with the strong faith that hallmarked her entire life. She was never much for drama which was probably why so many whose lives interfaced with hers found her to be even-tempered, open, and, generally, easy to deal with. (Some of us who experienced Francella as director of junior professed sisters may have a slightly different take on this.)
Through all that confronted her, Francella never lost the twinkle in her eye and quick wit that brought laughter and joy until the very end. Her most frequently asked question: “What’s up in the Congregation?” What a love affair she had with all things IHM – second only to the love affair she had with the God who soothed her concerns and gave her great peace of mind.
I am writing this on February 26, her 94th birthday. The concrete of her expectations and plans has gone to dust. Oh, but the fidelity of the life of Sister Francella that sustained that seedling – that will bless all of us long into eternity.
by Sister Jane Snyder, IHM
