Age 89
Sister Joyce Kavanagh was born in the Bronx, New York, and entered the Sisters of Mercy in Tarrytown, New York, on August 12, 1950. She made her perpetual profession in 1956, choosing as her motto “Only Thyself, O Lord.” She was a dedicated elementary school teacher in the Archdiocese of New York from 1956 to 1981, and served in several parishes as the religious education coordinator and then in adult education.
In 2014, Sister Joyce moved to Whitestone, New York, where she quickly endeared herself to the sisters in her new community. She became active in many justice initiatives in her later years, and will be remembered as a quiet, prayerful woman.