Obituary of SISTER ROBERTA MARY ROONEY

Sister Roberta Mary Rooney, 90, a Sister of Charity of Saint Elizabeth, died Thursday, February 21, 2019 at The Villa, Florham Park, NJ. Sister Roberta Mary was born in Salem, Massachusetts, the daughter of Robert and Grace (Lowry) Rooney. She entered the Sisters of Charity on March 24, 1947 and was a member for 71 years. Sister Roberta Mary graduated from the College of Saint Elizabeth, Convent Station, New Jersey with a B.S. degree in Education and from Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts with a M.A. degree in Administration/Supervision. In 1962 Sr. Roberta Mary was awarded a National Science Foundation grant for an In-Service Institute in Science at Northeastern University. Sister Roberta Mary served in the education ministry in New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts. She served as a teacher at Sacred Heart School, Vailsburg, NJ; Holy Trinity School, Hackensack, NJ; St. Thomas School, Waterbury, CT; St. John School, Roxbury, MA; Blessed Sacrament School, Jamaica Plain, MA; and St. Patrick School, Jersey City, NJ. Additionally, she served as principal at St. Mary School, Waterbury, CT. She was Provincial Secretary at the Northern Province House, Hackensack; Emergency Room Registration Coordinator and Assistant Manager at St. Joseph Hospital & Medical Center, Paterson. She was an Administrative Assistant, Archdiocese of Newark from 1985 to 1988. She worked at the Finance Office at the Generalate, Convent Station, NJ. Sr. Roberta Mary was predeceased by her parents and her sister, Gertrude Long. She is survived by the Sisters of Charity; her niece Mary Lou (Jeff) Barry, her nephew William (Bernice) Long and her niece Kathy (Richard) Farrell. She has nine grand nephews and nieces as well as several great grand nieces and nephews. She is survived by life-long friends from Massachusetts to Connecticut to New Jersey. She will be remembered for her kindness and generosity and her sense of fashion and design. 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.