Age 93
Sister Jayne, the embodiment of Mercy hospitality, was a pioneer in developing initiatives to improve the quality of life for ageing men and women religious.
Born in Monett, Missouri, Sister Jayne entered the Sisters of Mercy at the age of 30 in Dallas, Pennsylvania. She held a bachelor’s degree in physical education from St. Mary’s College in Leavenworth, Kansas, and a doctorate degree in gerontology from Columbia University in New York, New York.
Initially she taught at Misericordia University in Dallas, Pennsylvania, and elementary and high schools in the Brooklyn, New York, Altoona, Pennsylvania, and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania dioceses.
After earning her doctorate degree, Sister Jayne co-founded the Institute of Gerontology at Misericordia University and started adult daycare services in Luzerne Towers to provide relief for care givers. She applied her insights into the holistic care of religious as an administrator at St. Stanislaus Nursing Home in Nanticoke, Pennsylvania, for two years and at Mercy Center in Dallas, Pennsylvania for 11 years. In her later years, she ministered for ten years as a consultant to Project Remain, an outreach center for the elderly in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
Sister Jayne will long be remembered for her generosity, hospitality, and compassionate care of others. However, she will never be forgotten by her friends as a passionate sports enthusiast and a fiercely competitive golfer. Jayne’s greatest disappointment in life was not scoring that elusive “hole-in-one.”