Sister M. Laserian Flannelly, IHM

Sister M. Laserian Flannelly, IHM, of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary died on Monday, October 7, 1940, at Sacred Heart Hospital in Spokane, WA.

She was born on December 14, 1895 in Attymass, County Mayo, Ireland, and given the name Mary. She was the daughter of Margaret Gilmartin Flannelly and the late Daniel Flannelly. She entered the IHM Congregation on May 26, 1917, received the religious habit on August 2, 1917, and made profession of her vows on August 2, 1919.

Sister Laserian served as a dietician at Laurel Hill Academy in Susquehanna, PA; Marywood College in Scranton, PA; and the IHM Academy in Coeur d’Alene, ID, from 1934 until the time of of her death.

In addition to her mother, Margaret, she is also survived by two brothers, James and Michael, all of Philadelphia, PA.

The funeral will be Wednesday, October 9 at 9:00 a.m. at St. Thomas Catholic Church in Coeur d’Alene, ID, with Rt. Rev. Edward J. Kelly, D.D., Bishop of Boise, officiating. Interment will follow at St. Thomas Cemetery in Coeur d’Alene.

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