A Mass of Christian Burial was held on Thursday, Jan. 22, at 11 a.m. in Holy Family Chapel in the Convent Station neighborhood of Morris Township, N.J., for Sister of Charity Emily Marie Walsh, who died on Jan. 17 at Complete Care at St. Vincent’s in Cedar Grove, N.J. She was 104. At the time of her death, she was the oldest living Sister of Charity of St. Elizabeth.
Sister Walsh was born in Orange, N.J., the daughter of Margaret Mary (Treacy) and John Walsh. She entered the Sisters of Charity in 1938 and was a member for 87 years. She earned a bachelor’s degree in education from the College of St. Elizabeth, now St. Elizabeth University, in Convent Station, and a master’s degree in administration and supervision from Seton Hall University in South Orange, N.J. Sister Walsh also completed continuing education courses in gerontology, pastoral counseling, and ministry to the sick.
Sister Walsh served as an educator and pastoral minister in the Newark Archdiocese in New Jersey. She was a teacher at the former St. Paul of the Cross School in Jersey City, Our Lady of Sorrows School in South Orange, and the former St. Andrew School in Westwood, where she was also principal.
In 1964, Sister Walsh began her 51 years in ministry at Holy Trinity Parish and the former parish school, both in Hackensack, N.J. She started as a teacher and assistant principal at the school, and became principal two years later. In 1979, Sister Walsh began her pastoral ministry at Holy Trinity Parish. Among her duties, she visited the sick and coordinated the Bereavement Ministry and the St. Vincent de Paul Society.
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Sister Walsh retired from her ministry at Holy Trinity in 2015. The parish honored her with the unveiling of a sign on Maple Avenue, the street in front of the church, bearing the name “Sister Emily’s Way” in 2018.
At 94, Sister Walsh moved to the Sisters of Charity Motherhouse in Convent Station. There, she volunteered as a receptionist at the motherhouse and at St. Anne Villa, also in Convent Station. She also served as a lector at Masses in the motherhouse chapel.
Sister Walsh was predeceased by her parents; her sisters, Margaret Bradley and Patricia Marinaro; her brothers, James, John, Robert, Luke, and Charles; her nieces, Kathryn Walsh Inge, Treacy Mallon Krisztinicz, Susan Walsh Moynihan, and Nancy Walsh Krawczyk; and her nephew, James J. Walsh. She is survived by the Sisters of Charity; her sister, Catherine Mallon; and many loving nieces, nephews, grandnieces, grandnephews, great-grandnieces, and great-grandnephews.
The wake for Sister Walsh will be held on Thursday, Jan. 22, from 9:30 to 11 a.m. in Holy Family Chapel in Convent Station, followed her Mass of Christian Burial at 11 a.m., which will be livestreamed. Burial in Holy Family Cemetery, also in Convent Station, will follow the Mass.
Please make a memorial donation in Sister Emily Marie Walsh’s name to the Sisters of Charity Legacy and Mission Advancement Office, P.O. Box 476, Convent Station, N.J. 07961-0476.
