Sister Mary Terena Gentili, age 91, died peacefully on Sunday, October 12, 2025, at McAuley Hall Health Care Center in Watchung, New Jersey.  She was born in Trenton, NJ, to Dante and Clara Gentili.  Her early education began at St. Joachim Elementary School in Trenton and continued at Cathedral High School.  Sister Terena pursued a Bachelor of Arts degree in elementary education at Georgian Court College (now University) in Lakewood and graduated in 1970.  She entered the Sisters of Mercy in Watchung, New Jersey, in 1955.

Sister Terena began her ministry, teaching the primary grades, in Atlantic City.  Over the next 30 years, she taught at parish elementary schools in Bordentown, Perth Amboy, Bound Brook, and Phillipsburg.  In 1990, she went to St. Paul School in Princeton, where she taught second grade, reading enrichment in all primary grades, and served on the professional staff as a spiritual and education consultant.  Her devotion to the school, parish, and families in Princeton is legendary. 

Sister Terena found deep joy in the classroom, where her gentle spirit and unwavering patience nurtured generations of young learners.  Her love of teaching was inseparable from her commitment to the Sisters of Mercy, whose charism of compassion and service she embodied daily.  Sister Terena also had a deep and ardent affection for the NY Yankees and a special affinity for Derek Jeter!  Sister Terena radiated the grace of a life devoted to faith, education, and community, and she spent her final years at McAuley Hall Health Care Center in Watchung, New Jersey, in a community that she loved. 

She is predeceased by her brother, Bruno Gentili, and her sister, Theresa Camiscioni.  Sister Terena is survived by her nieces Janice and Carla Gentili, and her nephew Joseph Camiscioni and his wife Patty.  May her legacy of faith, compassion, and joyful service live on in the hearts of all who knew her.

Visitation will take place at McAuley Hall Health Care Center Chapel, 1633 Highway 22, Watchung, New Jersey, on Friday, October 17, 2025.

Welcome Home Service:  10:00am

Funeral Mass:  11:00am

Final resting place will be Holy Redeemer Cemetery, South Plainfield, New Jersey; however, there will be no graveside service following the 11:00am Mass.

Memorial donations may be made to Sisters of Mercy, 1645 US Highway 22, Watchung, New Jersey 07069.