Obituary of Sr. Patricia Deckert

Sister Patricia Deckert, formerly Sister Mary Brenda, age 87, died peacefully on April 6, 2020 at McAuley Hall Health Care Center. Born in Jamaica, Queens, New York to John and Josephine Deckert, she grew up in Sea Bright, New Jersey in "the first house from the ocean." From the day she made her first Holy Communion, she wanted to be a sister. She attended public and Catholic schools graduating from Red Bank Catholic High School and entered the Sisters of Mercy in 1951. Following first profession she earned her first degree from Georgian Court University in elementary education and a second in nursing at Brookdale Community College. She began her teaching career in St. Mary School, South Amboy and over the next 18 years taught in both St. Joseph and St Mary Schools in Trenton, St. John in Paulsboro and St. James in Red Bank. She began her second career in nursing at Riverview Hospital in Red Bank. In 1986 she was named Director of Nursing at Cliffside Healthcare Center and later worked at MCOSS Nursing Services in Red Bank. In 1992 she began a decade as a family caregiver at her mother's home in Sea Bright. In 2002, Pat returned to Mount Saint Mary in Watchung. Reflecting on her life at the time of her 60th jubilee, Pat said, "It has been a wonderful life with its ups and downs like any other, but I love God and God loves me." Sister Pat is survived by her siblings, Carol Marie Weber, Ann Pennington and John Deckert, many nieces and nephews and Sisters of Mercy. Funeral services will be private. A Memorial Mass will be celebrated at a later date. Memorial donations may be made in her name to Sisters of Mercy Mid-Atlantic Community, 1645 US Highway 22 West, Watchung, NJ 07069.