We commend to your charity the soul of our beloved Sister Mary Winkelbauer who departed this life on Sunday, October 29, 2006 Funeral – Tuesday, October 31, 2006 at 3:30 p.m.
In this Sunday's Gospel, the disciples say to the blind man whom Jesus has just cured, “Take courage; get up; Jesus is calling you….your faith has saved you.” Concurrently, our Sister Mary Winkelbauer breathed her last. Mary was taken to Passavant Hospital early Sunday morning, received the Sacrament of the Sick and answered that same call—“Your faith has saved you.” All of us left behind were shocked and saddened at the suddenness of Mary's departure. No time for farewells, for “thank you,” for acknowledgments of a life so well lived—just loss and absence of a loved one. Yet, for Mary who was being treated for multiple myeloma, and who quietly endured pain on a daily basis since an earlier auto accident, death came as she would have wished it, quickly and quietly. Born in Erie , the eldest of eleven, to John and Marion Winkelbauer, Mary enjoyed growing up on the Edinboro family farm, where she also learned a multitude of skills from nurturing flowers and milking cows to driving a tractor or a fork lift. When she entered, she felt at home here at Providence Heights , but noted that this farm was quite small and non-diversified compared to the Three M (the family farm was named for her mother, her eldest sister and the Blessed Virgin). Following Profession, Sister Mary obtained a Bachelor of Arts Degree from La Roche College, her teaching certification from Duquesne University , and received an MA from St. Mary's University of Minnesota in pastoral counseling. She taught in Pittsburgh , Detroit and Dover Catholic elementary schools. She experienced some of her happiest years in ministry when she became involved with pastoral ministry and was director of religious education in Warren , Ohio , in the nineties. Mary was also glad to return to Providence Heights as a resident because she loved community life and involvement. Her spirituality was evident daily in her life of community prayer, Eucharist, and in her devotion to nature and to all of God's creatures. Gladly, she also used her many skills in the service of her Sisters in community, as she responded to daily needs for driving and companioning. Just as Jesus promised in today's Gospel to gather the people and end their suffering, so today the God of Providence came for Mary to call her to the heavenly banquet where she receives the reward of a faith-filled life. Birthday: July 3 SMJC |
