Age 84
Sister Hope (formerly Sister Mary Bernard) was introduced into the community of faith at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Burlington, Vermont, and given the name of Alice Marie. Her formal education was directed by the Sisters of Mercy at the Cathedral Grammar and High School, as well as at Trinity College of Burlington.
Sister Hope taught at Catholic schools in Burlington, Middlebury and Barre, Vermont, and pursued many hobbies, among them reading, puzzles, crafts, water aerobics and crewel embroidery.
Upon retirement, she eventually took up her abode at North Barre Manor, a place she had grown to love and appreciate. There she was known as M C Hope, a personal reference to Mercy and Compassion. When she died, she passed on to a new and splendid life with her God and the loved ones who have gone before her. She asked for only a peace lily at her funeral, to signify her commitment to nonviolence.