Remembering Sr. Mary Eileen McCarthy, Sr. John of the Heart of Jesus, 96, April 9, 1927 – September 29, 2023

We are saddened to report the passing of Sr. Mary Eileen McCarthy, DW, on September 29, 2023. Sister was 96 years old and 77 years professed. She went home to God peacefully surrounded by loving staff and sisters at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Convent, Sound Beach, NY.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, to Michael and Catherine McCarthy, she entered the Daughters of Wisdom from Our Lady of Good Counsel parish in Brooklyn, New York, on January 31, 1945. She made her First Profession on August 2, 1946, and her Final Vows on August 2, 1951. Sr. Mary Eileen attended Bishop McDonnell/St. Barbara's Annex in Brooklyn, NY, graduating in 1944. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in English from St. John's University, Jamaica, NY, in 1963 and her Master's degree in Math Education from St. Joseph's College in West Hartford, CT, with Certification in English and Math Education.

Sr. Mary Eileen devoted a lifetime of service as a teacher in many New York, Virginia, and Connecticut schools in an education career spanning from 1946 to 1998. She began as a teacher at St. Mary Gate of Heaven, Ozone Park, NY, from 1946 to 1950, next at Montfort Academy in Fredericksburg, VA, from 1950 to 1952, and then at St. Mary's Academy in Norfolk, VA, from 1952 to 1961. She served as principal of St. Mary's Academy from 1957 to 1961. In 1961, she returned to St. Mary Gate of Heaven, Ozone Park, NY, teaching there until 1966. She taught at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Waterbury, CT, from 1966 to 1976. From 1976 to 1979, Sister taught at St. Bernadette's in Springfield, VA, before returning to Montfort Academy in Fredericksburg, VA as a teacher there from 1979 to 1998. Upon retiring from her long career in teaching in 1999, Sister Mary Eileen became a Part-time Archivist for the Daughters of Wisdom Provincial Office in Islip, NY. She continued in that position for over 17 years until her retirement and relocation to Our Lady of Perpetual Help Convent in 2020.

At the time of her 70th Jubilee (2016), Sr. Virginia Cunniff, DW, wrote, "' Be still and know that I am God'’ was a Bible passage that inspired Sr. Mary Eileen. She trusted her God and was open to His plan for her life."

Sister Mary Eileen shared that her last teaching ministry at Montfort Academy was the most life-giving experience for her. 

A quote from Monica Jacobe, Class of 1993, now a College Professor, aptly described Sr. Mary Eileen's impact on her students. 

"I remember Sr. Mary Eileen as one of the best and strongest female role models that I had as a young woman. I lost my Mother while a student at Montfort. I was eight and in the second grade. Sr. Mary Eileen was for me at that time a quiet but a strong person. As an eighth grader, she was my teacher. I still found her strong but I also found her fair, funny and very smart. Each day as I walk into a classroom, I feel that I carry part of her with me and my students respect and befriend me because of it. I am a better person, teacher and woman for having had her as my teacher. (Even though she always won at Uno)."

Predeceased by her parents, twin brother, John, brother, James, and niece, Tara, Sister is survived by her brother John's children, nephews Stephen, Neil, and niece, Laurette. 

At the time of her passing, Sr. Marie Chiodo, DW, who was by her side, wrote, "Sr. Mary Eileen exemplified the total self-emptying of which Montfort writes- emptying into the heart of God."

Donations in Sr. Mary Eileen's memory can be made to https://secure.etransfer.com/eft/flexblockcode/donation1.cfm?d2org=DaughtersofWisdom&d2tool=donate