Obituary

 

Sister M. St. Gerard Myers, IHM

Sister M. St. Gerard Myers, IHM, of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary died on Thursday, July 7, 2016, at Our Lady of Peace Residence in Scranton, PA.

She was born on October 25, 1923, in Carbondale, PA, and given the name Catherine. She was the daughter of the late Arthur and Elizabeth Moran Myers. She entered the IHM Congregation on February 2, 1944, and made her temporary profession of vows on August 2, 1947, and her final profession of vows on August 2, 1950.

Sister St. Gerard was a registered nurse. She served as a night supervisor, instructor, and director of the School of Nursing at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Carbondale, PA, from 1947 to 1950 and 1952 to 1977. She also served as a pediatrics instructor and supervisor at St. Joseph’s Center and Maternity Hospital in Scranton, PA, from 1950 to 1951. At Marywood College in Scranton, PA, Sister was a member of the faculty in the School of Nursing from 1951 to 1952 and 1982 to 1994 and as a staff nurse in student healthcare from 1994 to 1999.

At the Marian Convent in Scranton, PA, Sister served as the administrator from 1977 to 1982, and support staff member from 1999 to 2002.

Sister St. Gerard served as a volunteer nurse for the Migrant Head Start Center of Rural Opportunities, Inc. of Lackawanna County from 1995 to 1999.

From 2002 until the time of her death, Sister St. Gerard served as a prayer minister at the Marian Convent and at Our Lady of Peace Residence in Scranton.

She received her nursing diploma from St. Joseph’s School of Nursing in Carbondale, PA; a Bachelor of Science degree in education from Marywood College; a Master of Science degree in nursing from Catholic University of America; and a Master of Science degree in psychology from Marywood College.

She was preceded in death by three brothers, Gerard, Joseph, and Leo, and three sisters, Clare Ann Jones, Mary Myers, and Elizabeth Hernquist.

She is survived by a brother, Arthur of Owego, NY, nieces and nephews and grandnieces and grandnephews. She is also survived by the members of the IHM Congregation.

The funeral will be Tuesday, July 12, 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, July 11, between 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. A prayer service will be held at 4:00 p.m. Interment will follow Mass on Tuesday at Our Mother of Sorrows Cemetery, Finch Hill, Carbondale, 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.

Funeral:  https://video.ibm.com/recorded/89502114

Vespers: https://video.ibm.com/recorded/89480277


Eulogy given by Kristin Felice, niece of Sister St. Gerard Myers, July 12, 2016

Reflecting on every aspect of my Aunt Catherine's life would be difficult as it was so full and wonderful. Bust as I think about each part the one word that keeps coming to mind is DEVOTION. With every role she assumed, every task she undertook, every nursing, teaching, leadership position she held...there was devotion.

Her role as "big sister" started early on. Her siblings Betty, Joseph, Clare, Art, Leo and Gerard were often in her charge. She would get home from school and be ready to help my Grandparents by taking care of them. Not an easy task! My Dad tells me "nobody messed with Catherine!" From a very early age she was devoted to her siblings and that devotion lasted her whole life through. She went where she was needed to help with her nieces and nephews. All of us could tell you stories of her visits

Aunt Catherine always found great happiness when she was with her family: her parents, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles and cousins surrounded by all the children and craziness that is the Myers Family. It seemed she was always part of every family gathering and always at my Grandparents house or our cottage. She often shared that love of family by bringing sisters from near and far to be with us.

You can imagine my confusion when some people would come (usually with habits on), call her "Gerard" and she would answer! I thought maybe they were confused because that was my Uncle’s name. Maybe my grandparents had so many children they had to use names over again?! She was always Aunt Catherine to us.

I always knew, even as a little girl, that my Aunt was a nurse. After all, she lived at her hospital - St. Joseph’s in Carbondale. She was always there to help if someone was sick or hurt. As kids we knew she’d be right there with the iodine, mercurochrome or band aids and not far behind would be two of the other nurses she trained, my Aunt Betty and Aunt Clare. Imagine how proud she was of her sisters and then later, as she trained her own Mother as an LPN.

It wasn’t until I got to Marywood as a student that I saw my Aunt Catherine as Sister St. Gerard. It was then that I REALLY understood how much she did, how hard she worked and how devoted she was to her gift of nursing and her students. Here at Marywood she was surrounded by her other family: the Sister Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The incredible women who are each masters of their own disciplines. Who, like my Aunt Catherine, were called to share their gifts with others by teaching here. DEVOTION is a palpable thing here and it is no surprise that this is where she flourished. With every position she had in Carbondale and here at Marywood, it was her devotion that made her such a wonderful teacher of nursing. So many of you had her for an instructor or a supervisor. She may have trained you as a nurse or hired you at the Marian Convent. You’ve all told us the stories of how tough she was on you...but that you were grateful because you are a better nurse for it. She demanded that you pay attention to the smallest detail like your shoes shining or the beds being made properly. She wanted you

to be the best possible nurse by being attentive and careful in everything you did. It is through all of you that her devotion lives on. We know she trained you well because we saw it every time we visited her here. You took the time to listen to her stories of her family, of Finch Hill, of swimming in the lake and growing up in Carbondale.

The entire Myers family would like to express our deep gratitude to all of you here who so lovingly cared for her these past years. It has always been a comfort to see that the devotion Aunt Catherine showed to all those in her care reflected in your loving care of her here at Our Lady of Peace.

As a teacher, I am always asking myself "What’s the learning?" I think there is so much to be learned from my Aunt Catherine but here are a few that stand out to me:

1. Honor your parents and remember that your family - parents, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles and cousins are the best friends God gave you.

2. Surround yourself with brilliant, generous and kind souls. They will help you be the same.

3. Be grateful for everything

4. You don’t need "things" to be happy

5. Whatever you choose to do in life, do it with great DEVOTION

6. And finally, always, always get the ice cream.


Reflection given by Sister Ellen Maroney, IHM Congregation President 

Sister M. St. Gerard Myers, Funeral July 12, 2016

“You have been told what is good, and what the Lord requires of you: only to do right and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8

St. Gerard touched and truly shaped countless lives and hearts by the way she lived hers. During her sixty-nine years as an IHM, she ministered as nurse, teacher, administrator, and prayer minister in the Scranton and Carbondale region. She had also served as a cadet
nurse in World War II. She was one of the pioneers in the nursing profession in the IHM Congregation. She taught at three of our IHM sponsored works, Marywood College, (now Marywood University), St. Joseph’s Hospital in Carbondale, and St. Joseph’s Center
in Scranton, and left an indelible mark of excellence and caring at each. She spent several summers as a home health nurse in Texas serving the needs of Mexican migrant workers and also gave untold hours of volunteer service at the children’s center and camps of
the Lackawanna Migrant Head Start program in our own area. But it was not so much what she did, but how she did it that impacted us. Her spirit of adventure and energy, nurtured by her wonderful family and shared with later generations, developed in her the sense
that life was a sacred gift, to be lived to its fullest. Her generous spirit, her courage, her commitment to serving others, especially the poor, inspired us and touched us deeply. She did indeed “make a difference,” as someone said at
her wake service yesterday.

Her love and devotion to her nursing ministry was renowned. Her students knew she demanded the best from them and would not settle for less. While they groaned as students about how exacting she was, they soon realized how critical her training was to their later successes.
They also understood that her desire for perfection was rooted in her respect for each of them as individuals and in her deep concern for the well-being of their future patients who would be depending on them for their care. As I noted yesterday, there are generations
of nurses whose training was probably tougher than any army boot camp or IHM postulant year, but who carry on the love, respect, and tireless devotion to their profession and their patients that their teacher embedded in them and who continue to try to reach the bar she
set for them.

We remember very specially today St. Gerard’s parents, Elizabeth and Arthur, her sisters, Clare Ann, Mary, and Elizabeth, and her brothers, Gerard, Joseph, and Leo, with whom I imagine she is celebrating a very joyous reunion today in heaven. We pray especially for her brother, Art, for her nieces and nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews, cousins, and all her family members and friends. Our prayers are also with her many IHM friends, her Band members, the sisters and staff here at Our Lady of Peace and
LIFE.

I recently came across a book entitled, Fearless Girls, Wise Women, Beloved Sisters, a collection of 100 legends and stories about female heroines throughout history. As we celebrate Sister St. Gerard today as family, friend, teacher, sister, and so many other ways, it seems to me that she measured up to the title of that book. Over the course of her wonderful life, she indeed proved to be a fearless girl, a wise woman, and a beloved sister to so many. May God’s embrace be yours for all eternity, St. Gerard.

Art will now place the scriptures on St. Gerard’s casket, for indeed St. Gerard heard the Word of God, she staked her life upon it and received life to the full... the Word now beckons her home.