Sister M. Ann Patricia Elmore, IHM

Sister M. Ann Patricia Elmore, IHM, of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, died on Monday, April 7, 1986, at the Marian Convent in Scranton, PA.

She was born in Ireland on February 27, 1900, and given the name Mary (Minnie). She was the daughter of the late Patrick and Ann Trainor Elmore. She entered the IHM Congregation on November 10, 1927, received the religious habit on August 15, 1928, and made profession of her vows on August 2, 1930. In 1944, Sister Ann Patricia completed the naturalization process to become a citizen of the United States.

As a primary teacher, Sister Ann Patricia served on the faculty of the following local schools: St. Rose Elementary School in Carbondale, PA; Holy Name of Jesus Elementary School in Forty-Fort, PA; St. Mary Elementary School in Hollidaysburg, PA; and St. Patrick Elementary School in Spangler, PA. She also taught at schools located in Lock Haven, Pittsburgh, and Altoona, PA; and Syracuse, NY.

From 1976 until the time of her death, Sister Ann Patricia served as a prayer minister at the Marian Convent.

She is preceded in death by six brothers, and three sisters, including Eleanore Murray.

She is survived by a sister, Kathleen Cleneghan, and a brother, Felix Elmore, both of Lisburn, Northern Ireland, and several nieces and nephews, including, Sister Moira Murray, IHM of Syracuse, NY, and Pauline Marmion of Alden, NY.

The funeral will be Thursday, April 10 at 10:00 a.m. with Mass of Christian Burial at the Marian Convent in Scranton. Interment will follow at St. Catherine’s Cemetery in Moscow, PA. Friends may call at the Marian Convent on Wednesday afternoon or evening.

The Congregation of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary benefited from the efforts to bring young women from Ireland to Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Over the years a total of sixty-five young women became professed IHM religious. Their services were received as far west at Coeur d’Alene, Idaho at the IHM Academy and at St. Edward School, Twin Falls, Idaho. The southern missions witnessed their dedication in Washington, Raleigh, and Rocky Mount, North Carolina. It was remarked that black children in some southern schools were speaking with an Irish brogue! The Sisters from Ireland also served in many locations in Pennsylvania, such as Dushore, Lock Haven, Exeter, Altoona, Pittsburgh, St. Michael’s School in Hoban Heights, Cresson, Pittston, Scranton, and Williamsport. New York and Rhode Island missions also received their services.

Excerpted from The Story of the Native Irish Sisters Who Entered the Congregation of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Scranton Pennsylvania by Sister M. Michel Keenan, IHM, 2006, p.18