Aston, PA — Sister Rosemary Moreland, OSF, (formerly Sister Marie Lawrence), died in Helene Fuld Hospital in Trenton, New Jersey, on October 20. She was sixty-nine years of age and had been a professed member of the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia for fifty years. Sister Rosemary was born in Philadelphia where she was a member of St. Columba Parish. Prior to her entrance into the congregation in 1956, she graduated from Hallahan High School. Sister Rosemary earned a B.A. in English from Villanova University and a Masters in Social Work from St. Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri. She ministered in elementary education, in social services, in diocesan ministry, and in congregational ministry. In 2002 she was acknowledged among the “Outstanding Catholic Educators” by the Diocese of Trenton.
Sister Rosemary ministered in the Diocese of Trenton for thirty-three years. She taught at Blessed Sacrament School (1958-1963); St. Michael Orphanage, Hopewell (1963-1969); and St. Leo School, Lincroft (1969-1970). From 1979-1985 she served in diocesan ministry at the Catholic Welfare Bureau where she was supervisor of school social services. From 1985-1993 Sister Rosemary served in provincial ministry for the former St. Anthony Province which was based in Trenton. She served first as provincial secretary and then as assistant provincial minister. During part of that time, and continuing until 1994, she also worked as a consultant for the Independent Child Study Team. From 1998-2004 she ministered as a social work at All Saints School in Burlington. Shortly before her death, she was to have begun a new position at Sacred Heart School in Mt. Holly.
Sister Rosemary ministered for six years in the Diocese of Fall River. From 1970-1974 she served at St. Mary Home in New Bedford. She returned there from 1976-1978 as administrator. During that time she introduced and supervised the foster grandparent program and served as liaison between the residential facility and the State Welfare Office.
In addition to her term in provincial administration, Sister Rosemary also served in congregational ministry in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey. From 1994-1998 she was Associate Director of Pastoral Services for the Sisters of St. Francis in Aston. From 2004-2006 she served as administrator of Mt. St. Francis Convent in Ringwood, New Jersey. Additional ministry experiences also included working with Catholic Social Services in York, Pennsylvania (1978-1979) and at Our Lady of the Assumption School in Lynnfield, Massachusetts (1969). She also ministered as a counselor at the Annie Malone Children’s Home in St. Louis, Missouri (1975), and at the Catholic Children’s Home in Alton, Illinois (1975-1976).
All services will be held in All Saints Church, 502 High Street, in Burlington, New Jersey, on Wednesday, October 24. Viewing will be from 9 A.M.-11 A.M. followed by the Mass of Christian Burial at 11 A.M. Burial will be in Our Lady of Angels Cemetery in Aston, Pennsylvania. Sister Rosemary is survived by her sister and brother-in-law, Joyce and John Krebs; her nieces and nephews, Sandra and Louis D’Amelio and Karen Krebs, her grandnieces and nephews, Nicholas, Perry, and Katie D’Amelio, and by her Franciscan family. She is predeceased by her parents, Lawrence Moreland and Catherine Moreland-Abey. Donations in her name can be made to Franciscan Ministries Foundation, 609 S. Convent Road, Aston, PA 19014.
