Age 98
Sister Stephanie was an extraordinary incarnation of Mercy in our midst. She was that word of Mercy–spoken and shared; her very life in Mercy was to all of us a healing, a hope, and a blessing.
Born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Sister Stephanie grew up as a first-generation American in a loving Polish family. Her father was the neighborhood butcher whose home-made kielbasa and pierogi kindled in Stephanie a life-long love of Polish foods.
She entered the Sisters of Mercy in Dallas, Pennsylvania, at the age of 18. She earned a bachelor’s degree in education from College Misericordia in Dallas, Pennsylvania, and a master’s degree in clinical pastoral care from Loyola College in Baltimore, Maryland.
For 18 years, she ministered as an elementary school teacher in the Brooklyn, New York, Altoona, Pennsylvania and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania dioceses, also serving as principal at two of the schools. Drawn by a deep desire to serve beyond the borders of the United States, Sister Stephanie answered the call to teach the underserved in Georgetown and Mabaruma, Guyana, South America.
After nearly thirty years in education, she embraced the healing ministry of Jesus as a hospital chaplain at Mercy Hospital, Johnstown, Mercy Hospital, Scranton, and Scranton Regional Hospital. In this setting, she journeyed with the sick, the lonely, and the grieving. Her unflagging energy and good health, enabled her to flourish as a chaplain into her nineties.