Obituaries
John Stanton, pro-life movement’s leading light, dies at 86
The life-long Jenkintown resident was a local pro-life leader even before Roe v. Wade. He led peaceful witnesses for life at abortion clinics for decades, including days before his death last weekend.
Born in Ireland, Franciscan sister served for 74 years before death at 92
A native of County Cork, Ireland, Sister Irma Francis Godsil entered the Sisters of St. Francis in 1937 and served mostly in education for 74 years.
Franciscan sister who served humbly for 62 years dies at age 93
Sister St. Francis Coco professed her first vows with the Sisters of St. Francis in 1952 and served primarily in domestic work in the various convents where she lived.
Lenore Merrick, longtime teacher and social worker, dies at 73
The Chester County resident graduated from West Catholic Girls High School in 1958, and as a teacher at St. Ignatius and St. Teresa schools she was one of the first African-American teachers in the Philadelphia Archdiocese.
Franciscan Sister Anne Gallagher dies; served in nursing
Sister Anne Gallagher, O.S.F., formerly Sister Margaret Leo, died Jan. 12 at age 74. She was a registered nurse and served in the Franciscan order for 49 years.
Father Burgoyne, a Dachau liberator, Shakesperian scholar and pastor, dies at 87
Father Sidney C. Burgoyne, 87, pastor emeritus of St. John Fisher Parish in Boothwyn and a World War II U.S. Army veteran who saw service in Germany, died Dec. 6. He taught English in high schools and St. Charles Seminary before being named pastor.
Sister Mary V. Cilurzo, M.P.F., dies at 93
Sister Mary V. Cilurzo of the Religious Teachers Filippini, 93, died peacefully after a long illness Nov. 29 at St. Joseph Hall, the Home Healthcare Facility of the congregation in Morristown, N.J.
Sister Mary Conahan, 95, dies; served in Phoenixville mental hospital
Sister Mary earned her B.S. degree from Chestnut Hill College before entering the Medical Mission Sisters in 1941. She worked in publicity for the order for 16 years before teaching in Rome and Pakistan, then serving in the Philadelphia region for many years.
Sister Eleanor Francis dies at 95; served in Franciscan order for 73 years
Sister Eleanor Francis Filist, O.S.F., died Nov. 25. She ministered primarily in education and especially in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, where she served for nearly 50 years.
Retired pastor of Abington parish laid to rest
Father Joseph D. Bowen, 83, pastor emeritus of Our Lady Help of Christians Parish in Abington, died Nov. 17. “As a man of charity, his works were often unheralded," said a longtime parishioner. "He was welcomed into our homes, and indeed into our hearts.”