A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Thursday, March 26, at 10:30 a.m. at the Chapel of Mary Immaculate at the motherhouse of the Sisters of Christian Charity in Mendham, N.J., for Sister Josita Marks, who died on March 20 at Mallinckrodt Convent in Mendham, N.J. She was 78. She was a member of the Sisters of Christian Charity for 60 years.
Born in Waterbury, Conn., in 1947, Susan Lynnette Marks was the eldest of five children of Lt. Joseph L. and Helene M. (LaForce) Marks. Her father’s U.S. Navy service required frequent moves. In 1961, she graduated from St. Margaret Mary School in Winter Park, Fla., where she met the Sisters of Christian Charity. She later graduated from Immaculata High School in Mendham in 1965.
That year, Susan entered the Sisters of Christian Charity and was invested as a sister in 1966, taking the name Sister Josita. She professed her first vows in 1968 and perpetual vows in 1975.
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Sister Marks earned an associate’s degree from Assumption College for Sisters, then in Mendham, N.J., a bachelor’s from Marillac College, St. Louis, Mo., and a master’s from Villanova University, Villanova, Penn. She also received a certificate in spirituality from Mercy Center in Madison, Conn.
Sister Marks taught grade school at Immaculate Conception School in the Bronx, N.Y.; at the former Holy Family School in Florham Park, N.J.; at St. Michael School in Elizabeth, N.J.; and at St. Jude School in Mountain Top, Penn. She was also the religious education director at Holy Family Parish in Florham Park and St. Mary Parish in Wharton, N.J. Her last five years in grade school education ministry were spent as principal of Holy Family School in Florham Park.
In 1997, Sister Marks pursued full-time spiritual direction and retreat ministry at Villa Pauline in Mendham. She joined the staff of St. Francis Springs Prayer Center in Greensboro, N.C., in 2002. During that time, she participated in an immersion experience with people living in poverty in El Salvador. She returned to El Salvador in 2005 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero.
To broaden opportunities for spiritual seekers to find a place for silence, Sister Marks was among a group of Sisters of Christian Charity who brought their vision for the Quellen Spiritual Center into reality in Mendham in 2004. She was among the Sisters who founded the Quellen Spiritual Direction Formation Program in 2007, a three-year program to train people to accompany others on their spiritual journeys.
Sister Marks was also called upon to serve in congregational leadership. In 2001, she was elected as a delegate to the General Chapter in Paderborn, Germany. From 2003 to 2011, she served as a provincial councilor in Mendham.
After completing her service as provincial councilor, in 2011, Sister Marks returned to full-time retreat ministry in Mendham and Greensboro. In 2016, she became a pastoral associate at St. Magdalen de Pazzi Parish in Flemington, N.J.
The opening of the new motherhouse in Mendham in 2018 necessitated merging the retreat and spirituality ministries of Quellen Spiritual Center and Villa Pauline into a single site. Because of Sister Marks’ expertise in retreat ministry, she was called back to Mendham to assist with this merger.
In 2022, Sister Marks entered her final ministry of prayer and presence when she moved to the motherhouse’s healthcare center, where she resided until her death.
Sister Marks is survived by the Sisters of Christian Charity; her sister and brother-in-law, Michele and Jim Burton; her brothers, Preston and Peter; and her nieces and nephews, Meagan, Mark, Noah, Erika, Wilson, Jennifer, Lisa, and Sarah. She was predeceased by her parents and her sister, Martha.
Visitation for Sister Marks will be held in the Chapel of Mary Immaculate at the motherhouse in Mendham, N.J., on Wednesday, March 25, at 1:30 p.m., with vespers at 4:30 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held in the chapel on Thursday, March 26, at 10:30 a.m. The liturgy will be livestreamed at sccus.org.
Interment will follow at Holy Cross Cemetery on the motherhouse grounds.
Memorial donations may be made to the Sisters of Christian Charity, 350 Bernardsville Rd., Mendham, N.J. 07945, or at sccus.org.
