Age 91
Inspired by her motto, “Make Me Wholly Thine,” over the past seven decades Sister Felice was an elementary school teacher in the Diocese of Erie, taught piano, conducted choirs, served in parish ministry, ministered as a member of the former Erie Regional Community’s leadership team and provided affordable housing for people in need.
Born in Erie, Pennsylvania, she entered the Sisters of Mercy at the age of 18 in Titusville, Pennsylvania. Sister Felice graduated from Mercyhurst Seminary in Erie, Pennsylvania, prior to the high school’s relocation and renaming to Mercyhurst Preparatory School. Both her bachelor’s degree from Mercyhurst College (University) and her master’s degree from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, were in music education.
Initially teaching elementary school in the Erie Diocese, she taught piano full-time for nearly 40 years. For many of those years, she taught piano at St. Patrick’s School in Franklin, Pennsylvania.
Her leadership talent and financial stewardship and planning were recognized early in her religious life. For 13 years, she served on the leadership team of the Erie Sisters of Mercy. Over the years, she was actively engaged on six boards of trustees for Sisters of Mercy ministries in education and healthcare and on several Catholic diocesan committees. She served on the boards of the Erie Mercy Associates and Mercy Volunteer Corps in their formative years.
In 1994, Sister Felice transitioned into the housing ministry at Mercy Terrace Apartments in Erie. Shortly, she became its executive director, a position she attended to with love, faith, and expertise for 26 years until her retirement in 2020.
Her dedication to multiple services in the Mercy community and Catholic church brought her the recognition of the Serra Club for Outstanding Religious of the Year in 2013 and with the Distinguished Alumna Award for Service from Mercyhurst Preparatory School in 2016.
Not one to retire, in her later years she continued to serve on the boards of her alma mater Mercyhurst Prep and Mercy Hilltop Center, both in Erie. For years, she directed the Sisters’ choir at the Motherhouse until a few months ago.