Sister M. Imelda Lavery, IHM

Sister M. Imelda Lavery, IHM, of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary died on Saturday, June 13, 1936, at St. Agnes Place in Elmhurst, PA.

She was born on September 5, 1871 in Geneseo, IL, and given the name Celia. She was the daughter of the late Daniel and Mary J. O’Neill Lavery. She entered the IHM Congregation on January 31, 1891, received the religious habit on August 2, 1891, and made profession of her vows on April 3, 1893.

Sister Imelda served as a teacher at the following schools: Immaculate Conception Elementary School in Lock Haven, PA; St. John the Evangelist Elementary School in Bellefonte, PA; Laurel Hill Academy in Susquehanna, PA; and St. Paul Elementary School in Scranton, PA. She also taught at St. Mary’s Home in Cresson, PA.

She was preceded in death by four brothers, John, Charles, Francis, and William, and three sisters, Mary Elizabeth Lavery, Sister Mary Ortrude, OP, and Minnie Gertrude Seiffert.

She is survived by two brothers, James and Daniel, both of Genneseo, IL; a sister, Margaret A. Welsh of Woodhull, IL; nieces and nephews.

The funeral will be Tuesday, June 15, at 9:30 a.m. with a solemn high requiem mass at St. Catherine’s Church, Moscow, followed by interment at St. Catherine’s Cemetery, Moscow, PA.

“Sister M. Imelda, who has been visiting with her brothers and sisters in Geneseo and at Woodhull, leave this Thursday for Scranton, Penn, where she will attend a summer school for teachers. Sister Imelda is the daughter of the late Daniel Lavery and for a number of years has been engaged as a teacher in the schools of the Catholic faith. She was accompanied in her visit to Geneseo by a cousin, Sister Regina. Another daughter of the late Mr. Lavery, Sister Ortrude, who likewise is engaged in teaching and has been visiting here with her family left Wednesday for Madison, Wisc., to attend a summer school.”

The Geneseo Republic, published in Geneseo, Illinois on Friday, July 2, 1920 from page 8