Posted December 2, 2024

Sister ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Elaine Spangler, OSF, (formerly Sister Carlos Marie), 90, died in Assisi House on Saturday, November 30, 2024. She had been a professed member of the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia for 65 years. Sister Elaine was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and graduated from Dover High School in Dover. She was a member of Our Lady of Holy Souls Parish in Philadelphia when she entered the congregation in 1957. She professed her first vows in 1959. She earned a B.A. in Nursing from the University of Delaware and ministered primarily in health care and parish ministry.

Sister Elaine ministered for 41 years in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. She worked as a nurse and nursing supervisor at St. Mary’s Hospital, as a nurse at St. Agnes Hospital, and for Community Home Health Services, all in Philadelphia. She also served as a nurse at Pennsylvania Home Health in Elkins Park and at Assisi House in Aston for two years. In her later years, Sister Elaine served as a receptionist at Divine Providence in Springfield and at Neumann University in Aston. She also worked as a consultant with the City of Philadelphia’s Adult Services program and volunteered at Catholic Social Services and various Delaware County parishes. For nine years, she served in local house ministry at Our Lady of Angels Convent in Aston. In 2022, she moved to Assisi House, the congregation’s retirement residence in Aston, where she served in prayer and hospitality ministry until her death.

Sister Elaine served for 11 years in health care in the Diocese of Trenton, where she worked as a nurse at Alan Health Care and as a nursing supervisor at St. Francis Medical Center in Trenton and St. Michael’s Children’s Home in Hopewell.

Additional ministry includes five years in the Archdiocese of Baltimore as assistant nursing supervisor at St. Joseph Hospital in Towson and as parish nurse for St. Mary of the Assumption, Blessed Sacrament, and St. Matthew’s Parishes. She also spent two years in the Diocese of Wilmington, where she served at St. Francis Hospital and St. John the Beloved Parish, both in Wilmington.

All services will be held in Assisi House on Friday, December 6, and will be livestreamed. A Christian Wake Service will be held at 9:30 A.M. followed by viewing. Mass of Christian Burial will be at 11 A.M. Burial will be in Our Lady of Angels Cemetery in Aston. Sister Elaine is survived by her sister-in-law Rose Spanger, her nieces and nephews, and her Franciscan family. Donations in her name can be made to the Sisters of St. Francis Foundation, 609 S. Convent Road, Aston, PA 19014.