Sister Virginia Kempf, OP, of the Dominican Sisters, Sparkill, New York, died on April 23, 2018 in Dominican Convent’s Siena Hall, Sparkill, NY. She was 91 years old.
Born in New York, NY on February 14, 1927, Virginia was the daughter of William and Mary Jacobs Kempf. She entered the Dominican Congregation of Our Lady of the Rosary in Sparkill on September 8, 1950 and received the name Sister Sylvester. She professed her first vows in 1952 and her final vows in 1957.
Sister Virginia Kempf received her BS in Education from Fordham University, Bronx, 1957 and MA in Business Education from Hunter College, New York, 1974.
Sister Virginia served in the Archdiocese of New York at St. Ignatius Day Nursery, New York (1952-1953); St. Helena’s School, Bronx (1953-1955), and Our Lady of Grace, Bronx (1955-1957) before going to Binghamton, NY where she taught at St. Catherine’s School (1957-1964). Sister returned to the New York Archdiocese and from 1964-1965 taught at St. Ann’s School, Bronx. From 1965-1968 Sister Virginia taught in the Brooklyn Diocese at St. Edmund High School. Sister returned to the New York Archdiocese and taught at Thorpe Secretarial School, New York (1968-1969) and Msgr. Scanlan High School, Bronx (1969-1998). From 1998-1999 Sister Virginia served as Executive Assistant at Park Avenue Thorpe, Bronx, then was Administrative Assistant at Cathedral High School, New York (1999-2006). From 2006-2012 Sister was Administrative Assistant at Dominican Convent in Sparkill, retiring in 2012.
Sister Virginia is predeceased by her parents, William and Mary Jacobs Kempf, and her brothers Bobby and Tommy. She is survived by cousins and their families all of whom adored her.
Sister Virginia Kempf was a kind and compassionate person. She served her God and congregation faithfully for almost sixty-seven years as a Dominican Sister of Sparkill. We thank God for her life and her goodness and we pray she be brought swiftly into the fullness of joy in the presence of the God she loved and so faithfully served. We will miss her presence among us.