Sister Grace touched and changed the lives of thousands by her presence, support and work.

Sr. Grace Anne TroisiSister Grace Anne was born July 2, 1926, in Mount Vernon, New York, one of five children —three daughters and two sons— of James and Alfonsina Farinari Troisi. Grace attended elementary and junior high school in Mount Vernon and Saint Gabriel High School in New Rochelle before entering the Sisters of Charity of New York on September 8, 1944.

Sister Grace earned a BA in English from the College of Mount Saint Vincent and an MA in English from Fordham University, both in the Bronx. She later received an Ed. D from Teachers College Columbia University in Community and School Relations. She received New York State certification in Administration and Supervision.

Sister Grace’s ministry spanned sixty-two years, the first nineteen in elementary and high school classrooms. On the elementary level she taught at Our Lady of Angels, Bronx, Saint Vincent, Harbour Island, Bahamas, and Saint Gabriel, Queens. She taught Religion, English, Reading Skills, Chemistry and Latin on the high school level at Saint Peter, Staten Island, and Saint Barnabas, the Bronx.

Sister Grace’s love of the poor focused her education choices and ministry direction of the next forty-three years toward the promotion of community relations, staff development and strategic planning in the not-for-profit and for-profit sectors, implementing Management by Objectives in schools, hospitals, community centers, and religious congregations, and the development of leadership skills for living in a multi-cultural world with youth and young adults. In 1981, she founded New Dimensions in Leadership, Inc., an organization she directed for over twenty-five years, providing training in racial and ethnic understanding and conflict resolution.

Sister Grace continued her love of teaching on the college level, conducting courses at the College of Mount Saint Vincent, Fordham University School of Social Work and City College Graduate Education Department and in-service courses for the United Federation of Teachers. She published a training manual, I’m a Leader, You’re a Leader, which she used in the workshops she conducted. In 1991, she was recognized for thirty years of fostering racial understanding and interaction among inner-city youth with the first John V. Lindsay Prize for Race and Ethnic Relations. On that occasion she noted, “The problems are absolutely solvable. If people understood each other’s cultures, they would be able to work through their biases.”

Sister Grace touched and changed the lives of thousands by her presence, support and work. Life Experience and Faith Sharing Associates (LEFSA), a sponsored ministry of the Sisters of Charity, for whom she offered teambuilding and life skills workshops, was particularly close to her heart. In 2013, she retired from active ministry and in 2018 moved to Saint Patrick’s Home, the Bronx, where she remained until her death on June 17, 2020.

Sister Grace, we rejoice with you now as you are welcomed into the love and kindness of God by your family, friends, those whom you served and Sisters of Charity who have gone before you. Rest in peace.

 

Date of Death
June 17, 2020

Age
93

Prayer Service, Memorial Mass, and burial of cremains at Mount Saint Vincent at a later date.

Missions

Archdiocese of New York

  • Our Lady of Angels, Bronx, 1946–51, Teacher, Grades 1,5
  • St. Peter HS, Staten Island, 1956–60, Teacher, 9,10, Rel., Latin, Eng. Chem.
  • St. Barnabas HS, Bronx, 1960–65, Teacher, Eng., Math, Reading Skills
  • NY Foundling, Manhattan, 1965–66, Investigator, Poverty Programs, 1973–80, Project Basement, Team Building
  • Storefront Community Services, Manhattan, 1966–70, Director
  • Teachers College, 1967–73, Project Asst. Teacher
  • East Harlem Public Schools, Manhattan, 1973–75, Director of Organization Development
  • Economic Development Council of NY Public Sch, 1977–80, Consultant/Trainer: High School Renewal
  • Misericordia Hospital, Bronx, 1980–82, Director of Training
  • Franciscan Handmaids of Mary/Francis. Srs.of Peace, 1981–85, Organizational Planning, Life Planning
  • New Dimensions in Leadership, Bronx, 1981–2005, Founder & Director
  • Church Women United, 1982, Workshop Coordinator
  • Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies, 1985–87, Training Supervisors, Cross Cultural Relations
  • City College Graduate Education Dept., 1985–99, Adjunct Prof., Organization Dev. Spvsr, Admin. Interns
  • Northside Center Clinic, 1987–89, Teambuilding Program
  • Fordham School of Social Work, Bronx, 1991–99, Adjunct: Oppression of Diverse Populations
  • Youth Leadership for a Multicultural World, 1991–2008, Coordinator
  • Lavelle School for the Blind, 1993–95, Staff and Board Training
  • Life Experience & Faith Sharing Associates, Manhattan, 1995–2013, Teambuilding and Workshops
  • NYC Public Schools Districts 10, 6, 1997–2001, Consultant/Trainer for Leadership Teams
  • Grace Outreach, Bronx, 199–2004, Workshops in Comm. & Self-Dev.
  • Bronx and Yonkers Schools & Agencies, 2004–08, Consultation & Staff Trainer
  • College of Mt. St. Vincent, Bronx, 1994–2013, Adjunct Prof., Cross-Cultural Communication