Sister Mary Bede Douglas, IHM

Sister Mary Bede Douglas, IHM, of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary died on Wednesday, April 29, 1959, at the Marian Convent In Scranton, PA.

She was born on August 14, 1884 in Blackburn, County of Lancaster, England, and given the name Maria. She was the daughter of the late Thomas and Mary McFarlen/MacFarland Douglas. She entered the IHM Congregation on March 25, 1912, received the religious habit on August 2, 1913, and made profession of her vows on July 6, 1915.

Sister Mary Bede served as a teacher at the following schools: Laurel Hill Academy in Susquehanna, PA; Most Holy Rosary Elementary School in Syracuse, NY; St. John the Evangelist Elementary School in Pittston, PA; St. Rose Elementary School in Carbondale, PA; Sacred Heart of Mary Elementary School in Jermyn, PA; and St. Bernard Elementary School in Hastings, PA.

She was preceded in death by her step-father, Patrick Conlon, a half-brother, James P. Conlon, and a nephew, Reverend Edgar A. Conlon.

She is survived by nieces and nephews, including our Sister M. Patrice Conlon, IHM, of Dundalk, MD; Mrs. Carl Schumacker, and Alice and Jane Conlon, all of Scranton, PA.

The funeral will be Friday, May 1 at 9:30 a.m. at the Marian Convent in Scranton, followed by interment at St. Catherine’s Cemetery in Moscow, PA. Friends may call on Thursday after 2:00 p.m. at the Marian Convent.

Archival Remembrance:

On the day of her death, Sister Mary Bede Douglas had spent the morning in the chapel in her wheelchair. In her small crippled hands moved the almost ceaseless on her rosary. At about two o’clock in the afternoon, a weak spell was noticed. Shortly after six o’clock that evening amid the prayers of the chaplain and the Sisters, her gentle soul went peacefully to God. Sister Mary Bede was always quiet; she met all with a kind smile which was the index to her calm, gentle soul. In the places which were blessed with her presence, she will be long remembered for her careful teaching, her zealous care of God’s little ones, and for the generosity she manifested in sewing for the Sisters of her convent. In her last years, she was unable to use her arm, but she never lost her sweetness and gentleness.