A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Thursday, Feb. 13 at 11 a.m. at Holy Family Chapel in the Convent Station neighborhood of Morris Township for Sister of Charity Ann Stango, formerly Sister Helen Cordis, who died on Feb. 5 at McAuley Hall Health Care Center in Watchung. She was 86.
Sister Stango was a member of the Sisters of Charity for 69 years.
Born in Waterbury, Conn., Sister Stango entered the Sisters of Charity in 1955. She earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from St. Elizabeth University (then a college) in Convent Station, a master’s degree in mathematics from Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Mass., a master’s degree in theology from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.; and a D.Min. degree in theology-Church and society from Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C.
Sister Stango taught at the former St. Margaret of Scotland School in Morristown and the former St. John Cathedral High School in Paterson. She started her outreach ministry at Operation Extension in the Paterson Diocese and then as a Parish Apostolic Team member at St. Vincent Martyr Parish in Madison.
Sister Stango became a teacher/advisor at Catholic University and a faculty advisor, and spiritual director at Theological College, also in Washington D.C. She was ministry programs director at St. Elizabeth University and later general secretary for the Sisters of Charity in Convent Station.
Then Sister Stango was assistant to the president at the Hospital of St. Raphael in New Haven, Conn., and vice president-mission at St. Joseph University Medical Center in Paterson. She was ministry programs director at St. Anthony’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Fla., and then as an educational specialist for ministry, spirituality, and ethics at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa, Fla.
In the late 1960s, Sister Stango lived and worked in a low-income housing development in New Jersey. She was the first woman to serve on the formation staff for the seminary at Theological College of Catholic University and received an Achievement Award for Distinguished Alumnus from Catholic University.
The family was important to Sister Stango.
Sister Stango is predeceased by her parents, Armand and Helen (O’Connor) Stango. She is survived by the Sisters of Charity; her cousin, Connie, and husband, Bernie Nolan, and their children, Kelley, Erin, and Colleen, and her cousin, Dolores Carolan. Sister Stango is also survived by her longtime friends, Hattie Alexander and Ruth Overholser.
Sister Stango’s wake will be held on Thursday, Feb. 13, from 9:30 to 11 a.m. in Holy Family Chapel before her 11 a.m. Mass of Christian Burial.
Make memorial donations in Sister Stango’s name to the Sisters of Charity Development Fund, P.O. Box 476, Convent Station, N.J., 07961-0476.
