Obituary of SISTER MARY ROSARII DOWNES

Sister Mary Rosarii Downes, 90, a Sister of Charity of Saint Elizabeth, died Sunday, April 10, 2016 at Saint Anne Villa, Convent Station, NJ. Sister Mary Rosarii was born in New York City, NY, the daughter of Michael J. and Catherine (Malone) Downes. She entered the Sisters of Charity on March 25, 1947 and was a member for 69 years. Sister Mary Rosarii graduated from the College of Saint Elizabeth, Convent Station, NJ with a B.S. in Education and from Seton Hall University, South Orange, NJ with an M.A. in elementary education. Sister Mary Rosarii was an educator in New Jersey. She served as teacher at Our Lady of Mount Carmel School, Ridgewood; Epiphany School, Cliffside Park; Star of the Sea Academy Elementary, Long Branch; and St. Peter School, Belleville. She was principal at St. Teresa School, Summit, and St. Thomas the Apostle School, Bloomfield. She became the assistant Provincial at the Southern Provincial House, West Orange. She was Administrator in Seton Manor Community, Newark. She was an assistant in the Xavier Center Pelican Shop, Convent Station; and again became an assistant provincial at the Southern Provincial House, West Orange and a volunteer in St. Joseph Service Center, Elizabeth. She retired to St. Anne Villa, Convent Station in 2004 where she resided until her death. She is survived by the Sisters of Charity; two brothers, James (Eileen) Downes and Michael (Helen) Downes; two sisters, Margaret (Tony) Ortiz and Patricia Downes; her sister-in-law, Wilma Downes; nieces and nephews; and grandnieces and grandnephews. She was predeceased by her parents, her sister, Florence Zemann and her brother, Vincent Downes. In lieu of flowers, contributions to the Sisters of Charity Development Fund, P.O. Box 476, Convent Station, NJ 07961-0476 would be greatly appreciated.