Aston, PA – Sister Theresa Geary, OSF (formerly Sister Miriam Francis) died in Assisi House on October 19. She was eighty-five years of age and had been a professed member of the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia for sixty-six years. Sister Theresa was born in Kildorrery, County Cork, Ireland, where she was a member of St. Bartholomew Parish. She entered the congregation in 1936 and completed her high school studies after her entrance. Sister Theresa’s sister, Sister William Mary Geary, and her aunt, Sister Regulata Geary (both now deceased), were also members of the congregation. Three of her cousins, Sisters Ellen Mary, John Helene, and Geralda Meskill are also members of the congregation.
Sister Theresa ministered in elementary education for several years but spent most of her life in healthcare, serving as a nursing supervisor and instructor. She received her R.N. from St. Mary Hospital School of Nursing in Philadelphia. She later earned a B.S. in Nursing from Villanova University and an M.S.N. from the Catholic University of America. With the latter degree Sister Theresa’s major concentration was in Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing with a minor in Nursing Administration and Nursing Education.
Sister Theresa began her ministry experiences in elementary education in the Archdiocese of Baltimore where she taught at St. Anthony School (1940-1945) and Immaculate Conception School in Towson (1945-1946).
Sister Theresa ministered for forty-five years in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. In addition to her years in training and of service at St. Mary Hospital (1946-1951), she also served as a nursing supervisor at St. Joseph Hospital (1951-1954). From 1969-1976 she was a nursing instructor at Neumann College in Aston and during her latter years there was named “Teacher of the Year.” She worked with the retired members of the congregation (1976-1977), first at St. Mary Convent in Bryn Mawr and then at Assisi House. In 1977 she began serving at Our Lady of Angels Convent in Aston, overseeing the health needs of the sisters in residence there. In 1999 she moved to Assisi House where she served in prayer ministry until her death.
Sister Theresa ministered for eight years in the Diocese of Trenton, serving as an instructor at St. Francis Hospital School of Nursing (1959-1967).
Sister Theresa also ministered at St. Joseph Hospital in Reading, Pennsylvania (1956-1957, 1958-1959). From 1967-1969 she served as Assistant Director of Nursing at St. Joseph Hospital in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
All services will be held in Assisi House, 600 Red Hill Road, on Tuesday, October 24. A Christian Wake Service will be held at 9:30 A.M followed by viewing. Mass of Christian Burial will be at 11 A.M. Burial will be in Our Lady of Angels Cemetery in Aston. Sister Theresa is survived by three sisters—Mary Walsh of Kildorrery, Ireland; Winifred Una Mellon of Melbourne, Florida; and Kitty Rose of Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania—two brothers—Richard Geary of Poughkeepsie, New York; and John Geary of Dublin, Ireland; by nieces and nephews; and by her Franciscan family. Donations in her name can be made to Franciscan Ministries Foundation, 609 S. Convent Road, Aston, PA 19014.
