Sister Anne brought her enthusiastic spirit and personal warmth to the hundreds of students she greeted each day and to the families whose joys and sorrows she willingly embraced.

Sister Anne, formerly Sister Joseph Marian, was born April 25, 1936, in the Bronx. She was one of eight children, three daughters and five sons of James and Elizabeth Purcell O’Connell. Anne attended grades 1–6 at Our Lady of Angels School in the Bronx and grades 7–12 at Saint Walburga Academy in Manhattan. Her sister, Mary, was a religious of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus who staffed the Academy.

After graduation, Anne entered the Sisters of Charity of New York on September 8, 1954. Her sister, Ellen Rose, entered the Congregation in 1962. Sister Joseph received a BS in Biology from the College of Mount Saint Vincent and an MS in Biology from the College of Saint Rose in Albany. She was certified by New York State as a teacher of Biology and General Science.

Sister Anne dedicated 54 years of active ministry to education on the elementary and high school levels. Her first missions in elementary grades were at Saint Joseph in Manhattan and Elizabeth Seton Academy in the Bronx.

With her degree in science, Sister Anne taught biology and chemistry, along with religion, at the Academy of the Resurrection in Rye, the Academy of Mount Saint Vincent at Tuxedo Park, and Cardinal Spellman High School in the Bronx. She returned to elementary education at Nativity of Our Blessed Lady in the Bronx, participating in the departmental instruction for the upper grades. At the end of 10 years, she moved to Saint Joseph in Florida, New York, to teach the upper grades.

For the last 17 years of ministry, Sister Anne brought the experiences of her previous 37 years of education to the position of School Utilization Coordinator for Instructional Television in the Archdiocese of New York.

In 2012, Sister Anne retired and devoted her volunteer service to the Hispanic community of Saint Peter Church in Yonkers, where she lived for 22 years. Among the parish activities, she sang in the choir, helped in the soup kitchen, hosted a weekly prayer group, and made home visits.

In 2016, Sister Anne joined the retirement community at Mount Saint Vincent Convent and, in 2020, moved to the Kittay Senior Apartments in the Bronx. Sister Anne died February 13, 2022, in the 68th year of commitment as a Sister of Charity of New York.

Sister Anne brought her enthusiastic spirit and personal warmth to the hundreds of students she greeted each day and to the families whose joys and sorrows she willingly embraced. It surprised no one to see her running a three-legged race on school field day or dancing the polka at a church party. A trip to Our Lady’s shrine in Medjugorje in 1995 was a deep-felt blessing in her life.

Sister Anne, you have proclaimed the Gospel well in your life of service to the people of the Church of New York. A loving God waits to welcome you into the fullness of love reserved for all eternity. Go forth in peace. Thanks be to God!

Date of Death
February 13, 2022

Age
85

Wake
Thursday, February 17, 2022
8–9:00 a.m.
Prayer Service at 8:30 a.m.
Flynn Memorial Home
1652 Central Park Avenue
Yonkers, New York 10710
Streaming begins at 9:30 a.m.: https://venue.streamspot.com/d286a8ab

Funeral
Thursday, February 17, 2022
9:45 a.m.
St. Margaret of Cortona Church
6000 Riverdale Avenue
Bronx, NY 10471
Live Streaming begins at 9:45 a.m.: https://venue.streamspot.com/217aa3db

Burial
St. Joseph Cemetery
Yonkers, NY

Missions

Archdiocese of New York

  • St. Joseph Academy, Manhattan
    1957–58, Teacher, Gr. 4
  • Elizabeth Seton Academy, Bronx
    1958–63, Teacher, Gr. 5
  • Academy of Resurrection, Rye
    1963–66, Teacher, Religion, Biology, Chemistry
  • Academy of Mt. St. Vincent, Tuxedo Park
    1966–68, Teacher, Religion, Biology, Chemistry, Health, Resident Supv.
  • Cardinal Spellman HS, Bronx
    1968–71, Teacher, Chemistry
  • Nativity of Our Blessed Lady, Bronx
    1971–81, Teacher, Gr. 6
  • St. Joseph, Florida, NY
    1981–94, Teacher, Gr. 6
  • Instructional Television (ITV), Dunwoodie
    1994–2011, Coord/School Utilization, Program Dir.
  • St. Peter Parish, Yonkers
    2012–16, Volunteer