Sister Bartholomew 1906-1999

I was listening to the news tonight and heard a story about some students who had achieved perfect attendance for the year.  It reminded me that I achieved that goal once, in the sixth grade.  It made me recall one of my favorite teachers and I began to wonder what happened to her so I decided to do an Internet search.  My fellow St. John's graduates will no doubt remember Sister Bartholomew who taught the sixth grade.  She had a real gift for telling stories.   When we were good, she'd spend the last 15 minutes of class giving us an installment of the story of 'Fred and Joe' which she told from memory.  As she recited the story, we were spellbound and she was able to narrate the story as if she was reading from a book.  It took the entire year to tell the whole story and we'd only hear the installments when we had behaved ourselves throughout the day, which gave us incentive not to act up in class.

It appears from the following obituary that Sister Bartholomew lived to be 93 years old.  When I had her as a teacher in the 6th grade, she would have been around 66 years old, and apparently continued to teach for another 10 years, until she was 76.

So, for the purpose of keeping her memory alive, I thought I'd re-post her obituary here on the blog, and perhaps stir a bit of discussion about her, especially if you can recall the mesmerizing story of Fred and Joe.

-Lee

SR. M. BARTHOLOMEW DURAKO
JANUARY 27, 1999
SISTER M. BARTHOLOMEW (ANNA HELEN) DURAKO, OF THE SISTERS OF SAINTS CYRIL AND
METHODIUS, DIED WEDNESDAY AT MARIA HALL IN DANVILLE.

Thursday, January 28, 1999    

SR. M. BARTHOLOMEW DURAKO 
    January 27, 1999 
    Sister M. Bartholomew (Anna Helen) Durako, of the Sisters of Saints Cyril and 
    Methodius, died Wednesday at Maria Hall in DanvilleBorn March 3, 1906, in Upper Lehigh, she was a daughter of the late Andrew and Anna (Shvetz) Durako. 
    She entered religious life as a postulant at Villa Sacred Heart in Danville on Jan. 6, 1922, from Holy Rosary Parish in Ashley. She was received as a novice on Dec. 21, 1922. She professed her first vows in religion on Dec. 18, 1924, and her final vows on July 11, 1928, at Villa Sacred Heart. 
    She received her bachelor of science in education from Marywood College (University). 
    She served as a primary and elementary teacher for 48 years. She was appointed to parochial schools in the archdioceses of Chicago and New York; and the dioceses of Bridgeport, Conn.; Gary, Ind.; Harrisburg; Metuchen, N.J.; Newark, Del.; Scranton, and Syracuse, N.Y. 
    Her first assignment in 1925 was to St. John the Baptist School in Pittston. Other Scranton diocesan ministries included teaching at Sacred Heart School in Wilkes-Barre, St. Joseph School in Hazleton and St. John Nepomucene School in Luzerne. 
    Sister Bartholomew also was missioned to the Harrisburg diocese for nine years, either as a prefect of boys at Immaculate Conception Orphanage in Middletown, or as a full-time seamstress at Villa Sacred Heart in Danville. 
    She instructed children in catechetics for most of her teaching years, particularly preparing them for receiving Holy Communion. She also trained altar boys. 
    After 57 years in the religious life, she took up residence at Maria Hall in 1982, where she continued in the ministry of prayer and service, particularly, sewing, until the time of her death. 
    She was preceded in death by her sister, Sister M. Corona, SS.C.M; and five brothers, John, Andrew, George, Michael, and Joseph Durako. 
    Surviving are her sister, Martha Lynch, Morrisville; and several nieces and nephews. 
    Transfer of the body to Maria Hall in Danville will take place at 3 p.m. today, followed by praying of the Rosary. There will be a scripture wake service at 6:30 p.m. this evening. 
    There will be a Mass of Christian Burial at 10:45 a.m. Friday in Maria Hall, with the Rev. John F. Samson, of Sister Bartholomew's parish, Holy Rosary Church in Ashley, as chief celebrant. The Rev. Francis X. Malinowski, Maria Hall chaplain, will be homilist. 
    Burial will be in the congregation cemetery at Villa Sacred Heart. 
    Funeral arrangements are under the direction of the David J. Brady Funeral Home in Danville.-----