In Remembrance: Sister Mary Liegey

Sister Mary retired in 1997 and joined Sister Margaret Farrara, S.C. (+ 2021) making jelly sold in and around Eagle Bridge and in the Congregation. For several years additional orders came their way when a jar of their famous jelly became a gift for benefactors. Proceeds from jelly-making assisted the mission of the Congregation in Guatemala. In addition to the jellies, Sister Mary’s gifted hands turned out knitted items that won prizes at the Dutchess County Fair.

 Sister Mary Liegey, Sister Gabriel Rosaire, was born April 3, 1930, in Far Rockaway, New York, one of fifteen children, five daughters and ten sons of Gabriel and Veronica Webb Liegey. Mary attended Saint Mary Star of the Sea Elementary School in Far Rockaway and Bishop McDonnell High School in Brooklyn. She continued her education at College (University) of Mount Saint Vincent, graduating with a BA in English and went on to Hunter College to earn an MA in Elementary Education. Mary entered the Sisters of Charity of New York on February 2, 1954. New York State awarded her Permanent Certification for Elementary Education (K-6) and for English (7-12).

Sister Mary’s forty-one years of active ministry were dedicated to education, thirty-seven in elementary and four in parish religious education. Her assignments were at Saint Peter, Poughkeepsie, Saint Agatha Home, Nanuet, Saint Athanasius and Visitation, both in the Bronx, Saint Theresa, Briarcliff Manor, Saint Francis of Assisi Mount Kisco, and Saint Joseph Academy, Manhattan. In 1974, Sister Mary moved to Eagle Bridge in the Diocese of Albany and worked as a reading teacher, grades 3 and 4, in Hoosick Falls Central School for seventeen years and two years in Saint Mary School. She then directed the religious education program for grades K-12 in Immaculate Conception Church for four years.

Sister Mary retired in 1997 and joined Sister Margaret Farrara, S.C. (+ 2021) making jelly sold in and around Eagle Bridge and in the Congregation. For several years additional orders came their way when a jar of their famous jelly became a gift for benefactors. Proceeds from jelly-making assisted the mission of the Congregation in Guatemala. In addition to the jellies, Sister Mary’s gifted hands turned out knitted items that won prizes at the Dutchess County Fair.

In 2004, the sisters ended their jelly-making services. Sister Mary then offered her talents at Saint Stanislaus Parish in Pleasant Valley, New York, in its ministry to seniors and at the local Lutheran Care Center. In 2021, she moved to Saint Patrick Villa in Nanuet. Here she continued a writing ministry with friends in Eagle Bridge and Pleasant Valley, using cards she designed. She later joined the retirement community at Kittay Senior Apartments in the Bronx. Sister Mary died on August 7, 2026, at New York – Presbyterian Allen Hospital in her 73rd year of commitment as a Sister of Charity of New York.

Mary, as you have done in life, so also do in death – trust in the all-embracing love and mercy of God that waits to welcome you home. A place has been prepared for you; your final Yes surrenders you to God’s abundant Love. Go in peace.