Obituary of Sr. Dorothy Flynn

Sister Dorothy, age 96, (formerly Sister Mary Jacqueline) died peacefully on April 5, 2020 at McAuley Hall in Watchung, NJ. Sister Dorothy was born in Miners-Mills, Pennsylvania to James and Helen Flynn in 1923. Her family moved to Paterson, New Jersey in 1929 and became parishioners of St. Joseph Parish where Dorothy attended elementary and secondary school. Following graduation, she held several clerical jobs before meeting the Sisters of Mercy and entering the community in 1946. She began her teaching ministry at St. Joseph School in Keyport. Over the next nine years she taught at elementary schools in Burlington and Collingswood. With degrees from Georgian Court University and Seton Hall University, Sister Dorothy joined the faculty at Holy Spirit High School in Absecon and taught there for the next 10 years. She was assigned to Camden Catholic High School in 1968 and then to Mount Saint Mary Academy in 1969. In 1972, she was appointed director of research and development for the congregation until 1978 when she was appointed administrative assistant for the Generalate. She accepted a position as regional director of Families for Prayer, an organization based in Albany, New York, in 1979 and served there until 1984. She was assigned to the Newark Archdiocesan office for leadership development where she served until 1985 when she accepted a staff position at the RENEW office in Plainfield. In 1992 Dorothy was appointed assistant director at the Mercy Peace Center at Mount Saint Mary. She also served as pastoral assistant at St. Bernard Parish in Bridgewater until 1996. Her early retirement years were spent at Mount Saint Mary where she continued to contribute to Sisters of Mercy peace and justice initiatives and programs on both Mid-Atlantic and Institute levels. In 2015 she moved to McAuley Hall but her keen intellect and interest in world events and peace and justice issues never failed. Her devotion to the charism of the Sisters of Mercy and sharing what it means in daily life sustained her always. She is survived by many loving nephews, nieces, and Sisters of Mercy. Funeral Services will be private and a Memorial Mass will be celebrated at a later date. Memorial donations may be made to the Sisters of Mercy, Mid=Atlantic Community 1645 Highway 22 West, Watchung, NJ 07069