In loving Memory

Sister Elizabeth “Betty” Bauer entered The Sisters of St. Francis of Millvale, Pennsylvania on January 6, 1957, after several years as a bookkeeper, a job that involved travel to various parts of the country. As a Franciscan, she ministered as a primary grade teacher in Pittsburgh schools from 1960-1975 and then as a principal for ten years. She earned her BS in Education from Duquesne University in 1969 and an MS from Duquesne in 1974.

From 1985-1990, Sister Betty was the Director of Religious Education at St. Brigid Parish in Meadville, Pennsylvania. She then ministered for 14 years as a Pastoral Associate at Our Lady of Peace Parish in Erie. She loved her parish ministries and all those she met. In 2002, Sister Elizabeth reflected: “This ministry has changed my life and my way of looking at people. It gave me a new way of loving people. I now share my life with so many others who share their lives with me. We all grow and constantly convert.”

Sister Elizabeth, “Betty” to many, returned to Pittsburgh in 2004 and became active in Community Ministry at Mt Alvernia. For ten years, she lived in a community house with Sister Donna Zwigart, who recalls Betty as a cheerful and generous Sister who mowed the lawn, cooked, and did the food shopping. “Sister Betty was a good person,” Sister Donna said.

Yes, Sister Betty was a good person. May this good God welcome her home as she welcomed so many people into her life as a good and generous Franciscan Sister.

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Sister María Ramón entered the Sisters of St. Francis of Millvale, Pennsylvania, on August 1, 1956, at the age of 19. For 60 years, she ministered in education in her native Puerto Rico. Following a short time of teaching, she was named Principal of the Intermediate school in San Antonio, Puerto Rico. She was recognized for her excellent work directing and organizing for her students. In 1991, Sister María Ramón was named Associate Superintendent and Director of the Religious Programs for Puerto Rico’s 72 Catholic Schools. Her outstanding work in the town of San Antonio and her contributions to the field of education earned her honors on the Day of the Woman in 1993. Sister María Ramón continued to minister as Assistant Principal and then Director of Colegio San Antonio Elementary School until 2018.

On September 20, 2017, Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico and plunged its 3.4 million residents into a humanitarian crisis. Due to the extensive devastation, Sister María Ramón and two other Franciscan sisters of her community had to return to Mt. Alvernia in Millvale. At the time, Sister María Ramón was 80 years old. From 2018 to 2019, she served in various ways at Mt. Alvernia. In 2019, she and all the sisters at Mt. Alvernia moved to The Waters of Wexford. It was here that Sister María Ramón became endeared to many of those who cared for her.

Sister will be remembered as a courageous Franciscan woman who taught Christian values to her students and survived a hurricane of extraordinary proportion. Her dreams remained within her reach, for she once said, “My wishes were fulfilled when I joined the Community of the Sisters of St. Francis in Millvale.”

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Sister Paula Marie Notarthomas was born and educated in Syracuse, New York. In 1951 she entered the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Francis of Williamsville, New York.

A diverse career marks Sister’s 72 years as a Franciscan. After earning a Master of Science degree in education at the State University College at Buffalo, she ministered as a teacher for seven years and as principal for 18 years in schools in the Diocese of Buffalo. She then served two years in San Juan, Puerto Rico. In 1981, Sister Paula Marie was elected to her congregation’s General Council, serving as Director of Ministries for eight years. She then ministered as a pastoral associate at Columba-Brigid parish in Buffalo before serving as administrator and CEO of Holy Family Home, an adult care home operated by the Sisters until 2005. Sister Paula Marie ended her active ministry by volunteering for 11 years at the Buffalo parish Fourteen Holy Helpers at the school and teaching religious education.

In recent years, Sister Paula Marie lived at Fredonia Place of Williamsville, where she used her gift of joy by serving the infirmed residents with games and entertainment. About herself, Sister said, “I am a party-planning lady. I like planning and seeing the joy on others’ faces. I like seeing God working in people whose lives we’ve touched or worked with.” Sister’s joy and willingness to share it with others will be missed.

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Born Carol Hartley, Sister Patricia Marie spent her childhood in Tonawanda, New York, attending St. Francis of Assisi School and Tonawanda High. Following her 1954 graduation, she enrolled in the Cadet teaching program and taught a double class of first and second grades at St. Nicolas School in Buffalo. She entered the Sisters of St. Francis in 1955.

Sister Patricia Marie attended St. Clare College and earned a BS in Education. She ministered in schools throughout western New York State before returning to her alma mater, St. Francis of Assisi, in 1980, where she spent 16 years. After 40 years in the classroom, Sister Patricia Marie spent time ministering in community relationships at Mount St. Mary’s Hospital and geriatrics as director of Spiritual Care at Our Lady of Peace Nursing Home, both in Lewistown.

Sister Patricia Marie remained active at St. Francis of Assisi parish throughout her ministries. She was in the Choir, served on the Pastoral Council’s Spiritual Life Team, and helped count the collections. She also volunteered on the St. Francis School Development Committee and the St. Francis Prayer Shawl Committee. Her activities earned her the first Shining Star Award in 2006, given by the parish in gratitude for Sister’s sharing her time and talents with St. Francis School students, faculty and staff. Even after she retired to Fredonia Place of Williamsville, Sister Patricia Marie crocheted afghans and knit baby caps for newborns at Mount St. Mary’s Hospital.

Sisters’ nieces and nephews will remember her as the family matriarch and de facto grandmother, the woman who drove with a “lead foot,” the soft-spoken observer at the dinner table who patiently taught them to knit. Her Sisters in community will remember Sister Patricia Marie as a dedicated teacher, a willing volunteer and an avid music lover who dedicated her life to God.

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Born in South Buffalo, Sister Nancy was the only child of Allen and Grace (O’Malley) Walsh. She attended St. Theresa’s grammar school and Mt. Mercy Academy in South Buffalo. She entered the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of the Divine Child in 1953; her community later joined the Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities.

Sister Nancy’s first ministries were home visitation and religious education. She eventually earned her teaching degree and permanent certification in Special Education, and for the next 47 years, Sister dedicated herself to educating children in Buffalo and Williamsville, New York and Deerfield Beach and Miami Beach, Florida. She spent most of her career teaching remedial reading and special education. She also served as principal of the Divine Child Kindergarten for six years. Sister Nancy excelled as a teacher, and after retiring from full-time teaching, she continued to tutor at the Center for Joy in Niagara Falls and St. Agnes School in Buffalo.

Sister Nancy’s love for the sick and for animals moved her to volunteer, along with Pauline Barrick, at Roswell Park Hospital and area nursing homes with a therapy dog. There she offered both spiritual and emotional support to patients and residents.

Sister Nancy will be remembered for her love of reading, life-long learning and her passion for swimming. The highlight of one of her vacations was swimming with dolphins.

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Sister Michele McQueeney was born in Auburn, New York to Carl and Margaret (Dougherty) McQueeney, and named Margaret Susan McQueeney. She entered the Sisters of Saint Francis of the Newman Communities on September 1, 1956.

Sister Michele ministered in education for much of her religious life. In Syracuse, New York, she taught at St. Rose of Lima School and Bishop Ludden High School and at schools in Long Beach and Santa Barbara, California. She was a teacher and administrator at Saint Francis High School in Honolulu, Hawaii, from 1982 – 1986.

In 1991, Sister Michele began ministering in social services in Hawaii.  She became the Executive Director of CSI (Comfort, Security, Independence), Inc, a program for senior citizens. Sister also served as a volunteer at St. Francis Healthcare System of Hawaii. Her dedication to programs for seniors earned her an award from the Honolulu Women’s Business Association in 1985 and the Hawaii Women’s Lawyers Organization President’s Award in 1999.

Sister returned to California in 2000 and served as the Social Services Director at Saint Paul’s Villa in Health and Human Services in the County of San Diego.

An easy-going person, Sister Michele enjoyed being with others. She was genuinely interested in those with whom she lived and ministered. She will be remembered for her concern for others and her dedicated service.

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Sister Jean Marie was born on the big island of Hawaii in a small town called Kealakekua. Her family moved to Oahu, and she attended schools in Honolulu, where the Sisters of St. Francis had schools. At the age of 21, she entered the community.

Sister Jean Marie entered a ministry in education. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Education from the College of St. Rose in Albany, New York and a Master’s Degree from the University of Hawaii in Honolulu. For the next 55 years, she taught in schools throughout central New York and Hoboken, New Jersey, and for the last 33 years of her ministry, Long Beach and Santa Ana, California.

When Sister Jean Marie retired from teaching in 2004, she returned to Syracuse, where she helped care for her Sisters in different capacities. She also volunteered as a candy maker for the NunBetter Chocolate and Gift Basket shop, a former congregation ministry.

Sister was a social person who loved to talk about her childhood in Hawaii. One of her most memorable stories was about how her family’s home was hit by shrapnel during the bombing of Pearl Harbor. She loved her family, friends, fellow Sisters and the staff at Franciscan Villa. Sister Jean Marie loved animals and was always happy when therapy dogs came to the Villa.

Sister Jean Marie will be remembered for her dedicated service to community, her devotion to St. Francis, her handiness with a toolbox, her love of gardening, her kind, gentle manner and her sense of humor.

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Born in Carnegie, Pennsylvania, Sister M. Bernadette Pauline Battaglia entered the Sisters of St. Francis in Millvale in 1955. She began a nearly 40-year ministry in education two years later, teaching in the primary grades in the Pittsburgh diocese. Over the years, Sister Bernadette earned a Bachelor’s and a Master’s in Education.

Eventually, Sister’s ministry took her to Puerto Rico for 19 years and Venezuela for three years, where she served as both teacher and principal. In 1992, Sister Bernadette received the “Who’s Who Among American Teachers” award. She also taught kindergarten at the congregation’s Mt. Alvernia Day Care and Learning Center from 1995-1997. For almost 15 years, Sister ministered at St. Peter’s School in Beaufort in the Diocese of Charleston, South Carolina, serving as a teacher, visitor to prisoners and pastoral minister to many in the area. When her ministry at St. Peter’s Church ended in 2014, the bishop of Charleston sent her a formal letter of gratitude. The members of St. Peter’s Parish described her as a person whose faithfulness never ended and whose generosity never waned. In their hearts, she was an inspiration to all. And even in her retirement, she would share fond memories of her time at St. Peter’s with her fellow Sisters.

As Sister’s health began to diminish, she returned to Mt. Alvernia, yet even in her declining years, she remained outgoing, reaching out to others as she could. For over half a century, Sister Bernadette served in various ministries and became endeared to the hearts of many. She once described happiness as loving God, being at peace and being a Franciscan.

Sister Bernadette will be remembered as someone who loved life and nurtured a solid dedication to God.

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