Sister M. Rita Cecilia McKinney, IHM

Sister M. Rita Cecilia McKinney, IHM, of the Congregation of Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, died Saturday, April 6, 1991 at the Marian Convent in Scranton, PA.

She was born on May 13, 1909 in Coupon, PA, and given the name Marion. She was daughter of the late Peter Leo and Germaine Luther McKinney. She entered the IHM Congregation on August 14, 1927, received the religious habit on December 28, 1927, and made profession of her vows on December 27, 1929.

Sister Rita Cecilia served as a teacher at the following schools: St. Patrick Elementary School in Scranton, PA; St. Cecilia Elementary School in Wyoming, PA; Epiphany Elementary School in Sayre, PA; Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Elementary School in Altoona, PA; St. Joseph Elementary School in Renovo, PA; All Saints Elementary School in Masontown, PA; and Most Holy Rosary Elementary School in Syracuse, NY. She also taught at elementary schools in Baltimore, MD.

Sister also served as a small group instructor at St. John the Evangelist Elementary School in Bellefonte, PA.

She was preceded in death by five brothers, Arthur (infant), Peter (infant), Leo Lawrence, Vernon Demetrius, and Paul Kenneth, and a sister, Helen Matilda Hammon.

She is survived by a sister, Shirley Rita Bender of Ashville, PA, nieces and nephews.

The funeral will be Wednesday, April 10, at 10:00 a.m. with Mass of Christian Burial at the Marian Convent, followed by interment at St. Catherine’s Cemetery, Moscow, PA. Friends may call on Tuesday afternoon at the Marian Convent.