Sister Felicia Ann Parise, IHM

“Many people will walk in and out of your life, but
only true friends will leave footprints in your heart.”
-Eleanor Roosevelt

There are many Sisters living at OLP now that I have lived with before. Sister Felicia Ann Parise is one who has been weaving through my life since she (then Sister Ann Margaret) was my high school homeroom teacher at St. Patrick’s in West Scranton. She was my first experience of “Brooklyn!” She wasn’t my teacher but, she was one of the “cool” nuns that showed up for basketball games and dances and knew how to speak “teenager.”

In the early 70s, I was assigned to Bishop Klonowski High School to teach speech/English and Felicia was there teaching business. We lived together at the River St Convent.  And we did teach several of the same classes of students. One student in particular, Evie Rafalko – now McNulty, was definitely a leader among the girls in the business track. Evie is now the Recorder of Deeds in Lackawanna County.

In 1976, Felicia arrived in NYC with a promotion. She was assigned to be the principal of St. Alphonsus High School.  And, as the times changed, Felicia went from teaching typing to keyboarding to computing to being the technology coordinator in an elementary school, and finally, to using all of her business skills as the principal’s executive secretary at St. Saviour Academy.

I began a master’s program in NYC in 1978, taking classes during the summers.  I started my first summer living at St. Alphonsus Convent with Felicia.  Then, when St. Alphonsus School was closed, Felicia transferred to Cathedral High School, now as the chair of the Business Department and she lived at the IHM Convent connected to Immaculata High School on 33rd Street which, of course, is where I also came to live in the summers.  After that, Felicia and I were the last two IHMs to close out the 33rd Street Convent as we made our way to our new home at Waverly Place in the Village. I took a course titled “The Family and Television.” My observation assignment was at the Parise home in Brooklyn where they felt bad for me because I couldn’t watch TV at the convent!  The members of the Parise family were welcoming, kind and very funny!

Felicia is the oldest daughter of Louis and Margaret Charo Parise. Felicia was born in 1943 while her father was serving in the Navy at Ft. Lauderdale on what they fondly called the “SS Never Sail.” The ship never sailed because it was docked in the harbor and served as a classroom and Mr. Parise was one of the instructors. Because he was away from home, Felicia’s mother would point out any sailor she saw to remind her of her Dad. Felicia has one sister, Mary Grace, and one of her nephews is the father of triplets.

Felicia met the IHMs at St. Ephrem’s Grade School. Then she met the Josephites at St. Joseph’s High School.  Her choice to pursue an IHM vocation seems to have had three influences. Her first grade teacher was Sister Felician (“Someday I’m going to be just like her!”). Sisters Janet Rossiter and Frances Russell were in the class ahead of her. And, like so many, she chose to be an IHM because they were happy.

Felicia started school at St. Ephrem’s and her final task before coming to OLP was to close that convent. In so many ways, if people ever ask me have I been to “Brooklyn,” I will always say, “Yes” and I will always think of Felicia.