Obituary of Sr. Mary Harold Phelan

Sister Mary Harold, 85 died peacefully on September 20, 2013 at McAuley Hall Health Care Center in Watchung, NJ. Sister Mary Harold was born and raised in Trenton, NJ, attending St.Anthony Elementary School and Cathedral High School. Graduating in 1945, she entered the Sisters of Mercy and began her career in teaching. Her early years in teaching began in kindergarten and intermediate grades in St. Mary Perth Amboy and St. Mary Academy, Lakewood, NJ. She continued her education and received a BA degree in French from Georgian Court College and a Certificat d'etudes de langue francaise from Laval University, Quebec. Sister Harold also studied at the Universities of Toulouse and Bordeaux in France and received a MA degree in French from Assumption College, Worcester, MA. Sister taught French at Saint Mary Academy, Lakewood and St. Mary in Perth Amboy and also taught as an instructor of contemporary French literature during the summer sessions at Georgian Court College. Her teaching career also brought her to Phillipsburg Catholic High School and Notre Dame High School in Lawrenceville where she also served as Assistant Principal. In 1992 she become a Pastoral Minister in Holy Cross Parish, Rumson, NJ and later retired, moving to St. James Convent in Red Bank, where she continued her ministry of prayer and hospitality to the people in St. James Parish and was an active member with the "Partners of Mercy". Sister also had a great love for music and lived with a song in her heart and often on her lips; a beloved teacher, friend, and co-worker who shared her love of mercy and her love of God with all. She is survived by caring nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews and Sisters of Mercy in the Mid-Atlantic Community who loved her dearly. Visitation will take place at McAuley Hall Health Care Center 1633 Highway 22 Watchung, NJ on Thursday, September 26, 2013. Wake from 9:00 to 11:00 am, with the Welcome Home Service at 9:30 am; followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 11:00 am in Holy Redeemer Cemetery, South Plainfield, NJ Memorial Contributions may be made to Sisters of Mercy Mid-Atlantic Community 1645 Highway 22, Watchung, NJ 07069