Sister Yolanda was among a select group named to receive the Alfred P. Sloan Public Service Award. At the ceremony, she was acknowledged for her ingenuity and relentless energy that introduced the world of books to underprivileged children and their families in city shelters, welfare hotels, and group homes.

Sister Yolanda Bonitch was born October 24, 1934, in Manhattan. She was one of two children, a daughter and son of Lawrence and Margaret Diaz Bonitch. Yolanda attended Saint Clement Pope Elementary and Our Lady of Wisdom Academy for high school, both in Queens. After graduation, she worked while attending Saint John’s Teacher College, Brooklyn, for two years, and in September 1954, entered the Monastery of the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary, Brooklyn, receiving the name, Sister Jean Margaret. Sister Jean received a BS in Education from Brentwood College, Brentwood, New York, an MS in Education from Wagner College, Staten Island, and an MLS in Library Science from Pratt Institute, Brooklyn. She was awarded New York State Permanent Certification N-6, Social Studies 7-12, Elementary Principal, and Public Librarian.

As a member of the Visitation Order, Sister Jean was assigned as elementary teacher at Visitation Academy, Brooklyn and later served there as Principal. Additionally, she was asked to assume responsibilities within the Order. After twenty-five years as a member of the Visitation Monastery, she felt called to a more active way to live a consecrated life. Sister Jean requested admission to the Sisters of Charity and began the formal transfer process. In 1984, Sister Yolanda pronounced her vows as a Sister of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul of New York. Her years of ministry in the Congregation were served in the New York Public Library System as Senior Librarian of Children’s Services in the Bronx and Outreach Library Services in Manhattan. During her retirement years, she continued the friendships made with fellow librarians.

In 1992, Sister Yolanda was among a select group named to receive the Alfred P. Sloan Public Service Award. At the ceremony, she was acknowledged for her ingenuity and relentless energy that introduced the world of books to underprivileged children and their families in city shelters, welfare hotels, and group homes.

Additionally, Sister Yolanda made books available in the native language of homebound seniors and regularly visited Rikers Island, building up the library to bring books to those incarcerated. She also saw their need for a personal calendar and initiated a drive to collect the types acceptable in the prison system. In her deliberate and determined manner, she brightened the lives of hundreds on the margins of society with the charism of compassionate charity.

Sister Yolanda died on November 20, 2025, at Calvary Hospital in the seventy-first year of commitment as a vowed religious.

Sister Yolanda, you lived in faith the mystery of everlasting life that God, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, brought to fulfillment. Enter the share of this eternal joy reserved for you.