SISTER MARY JOSEPHINE OF JESUS, OCD
(Josephine Nesser)
Sister Mary Josephine Nesser, OCD, of the Carmelite Monastery in Beacon, died Friday, January 9, 2009, at the Monastery. She was 89 years old.
Sister Mary Josephine was born on April 9, 1919, in Norton, Virginia, the daughter of Turkman and George Nesser who had migrated from Lebanon. When Sister was seven years old, the family moved to Rochester, NY, where she lived until 1954 when she entered the Carmelite Monastery in Saranac Lake.
Sister worked as a secretary, first at the National Youth Administration (NYA)–one of Roosevelt’s creative ideas to help the country through the Depression years–then the Board of Education and finally, for 12 years, at Eastman Kodak.
In 1936-37, the Catholic Worker came to Rochester and young Josephine Nesser began a lifetime’s fascination with Dorothy Day, whom she greatly admired, and the ideals of the Catholic Worker. When she entered Carmel, she brought her concerns for the poor, the immigrants and the suffering with her and made them a vital part of her life of prayer.
In 2000, the Carmel in Saranac Lake united with the Carmelite communities in Barre, VT, and Beacon, NY, to form the Carmel of the Incarnation in Beacon. It was here that Sister Mary Jo celebrated her golden jubilee of profession in 2006.
Sister Mary Jo is survived by her sisters, Mary and Idell Nesser, Sister Sadie Nesser, r.c., and her brother Thomas and many nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews. Sister Mary Josephine was predeceased by two brothers, Joseph and Peter Nesser, and a sister, Rosaline Nesser.
Friends may call at the Carmelite Monastery, 89 Hiddenbrooke Drive, Beacon, on Wednesday, January 14 from 3 to 5 p.m. and 7 to 8:30 p.m. There will be a wake service at 7:30 p.m.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Thursday, January 15, at 11:00 a.m. at the Carmelite Monastery.
Burial will follow at St Joachim’s Cemetery, 303 Washington Avenue, Beacon.
Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Halvey Funeral Home, Inc., 24 Willow Street, Beacon. To send a personal condolence, please visit www.halveyfh.com.
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