Lest We Forget
Sister Anne Martin, CSJP (1919-2011)
Sr. Anne was born in Newark, NJ, the daughter of Edward Martin and Ellen McGlinchy. She told us that the city of Newark had many advantages to offer in those days, Branch Brook Park being the most important with its flowers, trails, tennis courts and a bandstand a few blocks away. It was here that she learned to love nature, study birds, attend concerts, always with the knowledge that there was this peaceful refuge in which to sort out life’s problems.
Music was her passion. She attended the Metropolitan Opera several nights each week, finally getting a job as one of the non-singing parts in crowd scenes.
A vocation to religious life didn’t fit in with the constant attendance at the theater but, she tells us, it was always on her mind. At the age of 21 she decided to let God take over her life, (quite a momentous decision for Anne!) a decision, she tells us, was the most important and fulfilling one of her life.
She received a B.S. in Medical Technology from Seattle University, M.A. in English, and Certification in Pastoral Ministry. Her ministries included Instructor at Sacred Heart Hospital, Eugene, Oregon; Medical Technician at St. Luke’s Hospital in New Bern, N.C.; English Department Chairperson at IHA, Englewood Cliffs College and a member of the English Dept. at Fairleigh Dickinson Univ.; St. Peter’s College – English and Music appreciation; St. James Hospital, Medical Technologist; HNMC Lab Technician and Catholic Charities Coordinator of Volunteer Services. She also opened a new Pastoral Care Department at St. John’s Hospital in Longview, Washington. “They were the best years of my life, she tells us.”
Music was also part of her days. She was the organist at Holy Trinity Church, Fort Lee for two years, and Our Lady Mother of the Church in Woodcliff Lake for five.
There are two passages from Scripture that come to my mind as we pray our farewell to Anne this morning. They come during Easter Time, right after Pentecost. They are the farewell discourses from the Acts of the Apostles (20:17-27) and the Gospel of John (17:1-11a). They remind us of what we believe about death – it is not a final parting, but rather a parting until we meet again. Surely it is in this sense of farewell that Anne would have us gather this morning. So, until we meet again, Anne… “May God enfold you in blessings of peace.