Sister Lois Buckley, IHM

Sister Lois Buckley, IHM, (formerly known as Sister M. Inviolata) of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary died on Monday, May 20, 2024, at Our Lady of Peace Residence in Scranton, PA.

Born on June 8, 1936, in Pittston, PA, and given the name Lois Catherine, Sister Lois was the daughter of the late Daniel J. and Mary C. Conway Buckley. She entered the IHM Congregation on September 8, 1954, made temporary profession of her vows on August 3, 1957, and final profession of her vows on August 3, 1960.  Sister Lois received a Bachelor of Science degree in education from Marywood College.

Sister Lois served as a teacher in the following schools: St. Michael Elementary School in Hoban Heights, PA, from 1964 to 1966; St. Rose Elementary School in Carbondale, PA, from 1971 to 1976; Our Lady of Grace Montessori School in Manhasset, NY, from 1976 to 1977; St. John the Baptist Elementary School in Pittsburgh, PA, from 1977 to 1983; Nativity of Our Lord Elementary School in Scranton, PA, from 1983 to 1984; Archbishop Neale Elementary School in La Plata, MD, from 1984 to 1985; and at St. John the Evangelist Elementary School in Silver Spring, MD, from 1985 to 1996.

Sister also served as a catechetical instructor at St. Patrick Parish in Milford, PA, from 1957 to 1964; and St. Peter Parish in Wellsboro, PA, from 1966 to 1971.

At St. John the Evangelist Elementary School in Silver Spring, MD, Sister Lois served as the director of the extended school program from 1996 to 2000; the director of the day care program from 2000 to 2015; and as the director of the enrichment program from 2007 to 2015.

From 2015 until the time of her death, Sister Lois was a prayer minister at Our Lady of Peace Residence in Scranton

She was preceded in death by six brothers, John, Michael, Walter, Paul, Daniel, and Tom; and a sister, Anne Jennings. Sister Lois is survived by two sisters, Mary Grogan of Elizabethtown, PA, and Joan Flor of Mechanicsburg, PA; nieces and nephews; grandnieces and grandnephews. She is also survived by the members of the IHM Congregation.

The funeral will be Friday, May 24, at 11:00 a.m. with Mass of Christian Burial at Our Lady of Peace Residence, 1510 University Avenue in Dunmore, PA. Friends may call at Our Lady of Peace Residence on Friday, May 24, between 9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. A prayer service will be held at 10:30 a.m. Interment will follow Mass on Friday at St. Catherine’s Cemetery in Moscow, PA.

Prayer of Rememberance and Funeral Mass

Reflection

Given by Sister Grace Surdovel, IHM Leadership Team Member

Our Sister Lois was born on June 8, 1936, and would have celebrated her 88^th birthday in a little over a week.  She will now celebrate with her parents and siblings in her heavenly home. I am sure it will be quite the celebration! Lois was a native of Pittston and was the daughter of Daniel and Mary.  She and her 9 siblings were reared in a loving, Catholic home. We are blessed to have 33 members of Lois’ family with us today both in person and on livestream.

Lois attended St. John the Evangelist Elementary and High School in Pittston before heading off to college at Marywood College to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education.  After profession, Lois spent over 50 years ministering in schools and parishes in Pennsylvania and Maryland.  Lois loved the children she taught as well as the adults she guided in her pastoral work and was always ready to share a heartwarming smile with all she encountered. She would also share many funny stories from her ministry with the sisters in her local community.  Here at Our Lady of Peace, Lois was a quiet presence among her sisters in the 1C community and was loved by the sisters and staff who cared for her

Lois was a blessing in all of our lives, and we are grateful for the gift she has been to each of us.

As I reflected on Lois’ life and all those who mourn her loss, I recalled a poem by the late John O’Donohue entitled, On the Death of the Beloved.  I share it with you now as a prayer of gratitude for the 88 years of life our Lois shared with us.

Though we need to weep your loss, You dwell in that safe place in our hearts where no storm or night or pain can reach you.
     Your love was like the dawn brightening over our lives, awakening beneath the dark a further adventure of color.
     The sound of your voice found for us a new music that brightened everything.
     Whatever you enfolded in your gaze
Quickened in the joy of its being,
You placed smiles like flowers on the altar of the heart. Your mind always sparkled with wonder at things.
     Though your days here were brief,
Your spirit was alive, awake, complete.
     We look toward each other no longer from the old distance of our names; now you dwell inside the rhythm of breath, as close to us as we are to ourselves.
     Though we cannot see you with outward eyes, we know our soul’s gaze is upon your face, smiling back at us from within everything to which we bring our best refinement.
     Let us not look for you only in memory, where we would grow lonely without you. You would want us to find you in presence, besides us when beauty brightens, when kindness glows And music echoes eternal tones.
     When orchids brighten the earth,
Darkest winter has turned to spring;
May this dark grief flower with hope
in every heart that loves you.
     May you continue to inspire us: to enter each day with a generous heart.
To serve the call of courage and love
Until we see your beautiful face again
In that land where there is no more separation, where all tears will be wiped from our mind, and where we will never lose you again