Well Done Good and Faithful Servant

Obituary Tribute to
Sister Mary McCaffrey

1927 - 2014

“I have found heaven on earth, since heaven
 is God, and God is in my soul. My mission
 in heaven will be to draw souls, helping
them to go out of themselves to cling to God.”
Elizabeth of the Trinity, OCD

 

Sister Mary Teresa McCaffrey of the Redemptoristine community residing in the Monastery of the Incarnation, Beacon, NY, died on December 9, 2014 at Lourdes Health Care Center,  infirmary of the School Sisters of Notre Dame in Wilton, CT at the age of 87 years following a lengthy illness. Sister Mary was the first of four children born to Teresa Alice Taylor and Daniel Joseph McCaffrey on October 6, 1927 in Brooklyn, NY. She is survived by her brothers Daniel and Gerard (Barbara) and a sister Kathleen (John Janny), twelve nieces and nephews, their fifteen children and eight nuns who shared vowed life with her in the Order of the Most Holy Redeemer.

Sister Mary first entered religious life in 1947 in the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Brentwood, Long Island. After professing vows in 1949 as Sr. Teresa Miriam she was placed in charge of large classes of little boys in the parish schools of Our Lady of Perpetual Help and St. Mary, Mother of Jesus in Brooklyn.  During 12 years with the Josephites she obtained a BA degree from St. John’s University.

Responding to a call within a call, she entered the contemplative monastic order of the Redemptoristine Nuns, located in Esopus, NY, in 1959. In humble obedience and with great courage she became a novice for the second time joining a young community creating a new monastic foundation on the grounds of Mt. St. Alphonsus Redemptorist Major Seminary.  There she professed Solemn Vows in 1961 as Sr. Mary Teresa of the Holy Family.

By middle age Sr. Mary was enduring ever increasing physical infirmity. Yet she remained faithful in devotion to God, her contemplative vocation and personal devotion to the Holy Eucharist. Always available to her community, she served as Council Secretary for numerous terms, presided over the monastery library and gave willing ear and wise guidance to many new members. The lay associates of the monastery also benefitted from her direction. On behalf of many friends and benefactors she exercised the apostolate of the pen in generous correspondence. Sr. Mary rejoiced in her experience of over 70 years association with the Redemptorist Congregation; as a child in their parish, a teacher in their schools, and as neighbor to their seminary in Esopus. She influenced many young boys considering the priesthood and later became friend, confidant, informal spiritual director or prayer partner to many Redemptorist priests and brothers. Throughout her life she was a golden thread woven into the fabric of her family where she remained a source of unity and wisdom and a model of faith and prayer. 

Funeral arrangements are under the direction of the Halvey Funeral Home  (www.halveyfh.com). The community will receive visitors at the Monastery of the Incarnation, 89 Hiddenbrooke Drive, Beacon NY on Monday, December 15 from 2 to 4 pm and from 7 to 8:30pm. A Vigil Service will begin at 7:30pm. Mass of the Resurrection will be offered on Tuesday, December 16 at 11:00am in the Monastery chapel. Burial will be at Mt. St. Alphonsus Cemetery (grounds of The Mount Academy) Route 9W, Esopus, NY at 2:30pm. In lieu of flowers it is suggested that donations be made to Lourdes Health Care Center, 345 Belden Hill Rd., Wilton, CT 06897 in support of their compassionate care for senior sisters.

An Urban Saint

In the Arms of God

There used to be a feature in the Reader's Digest entitled "The Most Unforgetable Character I Ever Met". Today I learned of the death early this morning, early on Good Friday, of one of my most unforgetable characters.  Betty had a most memorable character. For over ten years I brought Holy Communion to her on Sunday mornings. I'd been ask to take this on by a close friend of mine who had already been bringing Communion to Betty for many years, always on Tuesday mornings and always along with fresh fruit and vegetables. My friend continued to do this for many more years. My appointments with Betty ended with my entrance into the monastery.

There is so much more I want to say about Betty. However, at this time, by way of introduction, I post the obituary I wrote long ago and put aside for this day. It is great comfort to me that this wise woman, always close to the Lord, is now whispering compassionate pleas while in the embrace of her Beloved.

Athalie “Betty” Elizabeth Wimbish



c. 1950



Kingston, NY – Athalie Elizabeth Wimbish, well known to residents of uptown Kingston as a local presence particularly to shoppers at London’s clothing store on North Front Street in Kingston where she was employed from the early 1940s to the late 70s, died at Ferncliff Nursing Home on Good Friday, April 6 at the age of 95.

She was born on August 4, 1916 at

100 Gage Street, Kingston

, the daughter of Andrew and Blanch Elizabeth Wimbish and grand-daughter of Hannah “Hattie” Elizabeth Jackson. She proudly spoke of the African-American and Mohawk heritage received from her father and mother and the Dutch cultural influence of her maternal grandmother. She graduated from Kingston High School in 1934. There she wrote interviews for “Dame Rumor” and played basketball. The year book indicated that she was college bound and spoke of missionary work in Africa.

Kingston High School

Her childhood was spent in

Albany Avenue

mansions where her grandmother served as housekeeper. One employer was the owner of the Fuller Shirt Factory. In these settings and as a precocious child of mixed race she was exposed to a variety of educational influences. Her grandmother provided religious formation at both St. John’s Episcopal Church on

Albany Avenue

and the AME Zion Church on

Franklin Street

.

In the late 1930s Betty Wimbish experienced the excitement of the Harlem Renaissance and her first trip to Europe. She returned to Kingston to care for her mother and grandmother, working first at Montgomery Wards where her mother was the elevator operator. Beginning in 1943, she fulfilled many tasks for London’s, including inventory, accounts receivable, shipping aid packages to Stanley London’s relatives in Europe and secretarial assistance to Mrs. London who was President of Hadassah, a Jewish organization for women.

First attracted to the Catholic faith during her time in New York City, she was received into the Church in the 1950s at St. Mary’s Church in Kingston which was very welcoming to people of color. After being rejected in an effort to become a Catholic sister due to her race, she made a decision to serve the Church in every other way possible; catechist at St. Mary’s; prayer support to any number of priests including Rev. Daniel Egan known as the “Junkie Priest”; ecumenical efforts in concert with the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement at Graymoor, Garrison, NY, and fund-raising for overseas missions.  She was a member of a world-wide mission tour in 1965 which included stops in Hawaii, Japan, India and the Holy Land. In India she sat on the dais during Mass celebrated by Pope Paul VI.

1990

Around the time of her conversion to Catholicism Ms. Wimbish made a life choice, a preference for personal poverty and simplicity motivated by her deep faith and supported by an active spiritual life. By the 1970s she had assumed this persona to such a degree that she became known only as “Black Betty”, dressed always in black with a kerchief or beret covering her head at all times. She was readily recognized on uptown streets as she walked to and from daily Mass at St. Joseph’s Church and on to work. For more recent arrivals to town she merely seemed to be a local character, the woman in black who swept the floors at London’s clothing store.

After retirement in 1976, she became an urban hermit, praying constantly, serving as confidant and aide to the poor and as a conduit of funds she received from more fortunate friends. Agnes Scott Smith, who taught Athalie Wimbish at Kingston High School, now deceased, described her as “quietly pious, an enigma who became a nun without going into the convent.”

Athalie Elizabeth Wimbish is survived by a nephew Sherwood Harvey and his wife Venice and one grand nephew who were devoted to her care during these last years. She is also survived by her friends Mary Cicale and Sr. Hildegard Pleva, OSsR, her spiritual sisters who cherish memories of her wisdom and holiness They are forever marked by her influence.