Sister Marie O’Donnell, OP of the Dominican Sisters, Sparkill, New York, died on September 13, 2018 in Montefiore Nyack Hospital, Nyack, NY. She was 83 years old.
Born in Brooklyn, NY on May 15, 1935, Marie (aka Bridget Mary) was the daughter of Edward and Ellen (Nellie) Carroll O’Donnell. She entered the Dominican Congregation of Our Lady of the Rosary in Sparkill on September 7, 1952 and received the name Sister Ellen Edward. She professed her first vows in 1954 and her final vows in 1959.
Sister Marie O’Donnell received her BS in Education from St. Thomas Aquinas College, Sparkill, NY, 1964; her MA in History from Manhattan College, Bronx, NY, 1971; she also held Certification in School Administration and Supervision in New York State.
During her more than fifty-six years in the Ministry of Education, Sister Marie O’Donnell served in St. Paul School; Norwich, NY (1954-1962) and in the Archdiocese of New York at St. Martin of Tours School, Bronx, NY (1962-1967) before becoming principal at Sacred Heart School; Monroe, NY (1967-1978). For the next thirty-two years, Sr. Marie ministered at Msgr. Scanlan High School; Bronx, NY (1978-2010) as a teacher of history, principal and assistant administrator before coming to Dominican Convent in 2013.
Sister Marie O’Donnell is predeceased by her parents Edward and Ellen Carroll O’Donnell and her brother Michael. She is survived by several nephews and nieces and their families whom she adored.
Sister Marie O’Donnell was a kind and gracious woman who made a difference in the lives of those who knew her. She served her God and congregation faithfully for sixty-six years as a Dominican Sister of Sparkill. We thank God for her life and her goodness and we pray she may enjoy the fullness of life in the presence of the God she loved and so faithfully served. We will miss her presence among us.