| |
|
|
|
 Sr. Rosalie Shields, OP
Diamond Jubilarian
60 years (July 9, 1947)
Growing up as a youngster in New Haven, Connecticut, she was best known as the daughter of Detective Shields, a truancy office with the city's police department – feared by neighborhood children because of his profession. But as a Dominican Sister, Sr. Rosalie Shields (formerly Sr. Edward Marie) became best known for her hard work, her great capacity for love, and her generosity of spirit, time, and talent. As she celebrates her 60th Jubilee this year, those who have known her well reflected on her years of service and friendship.
Like many of her Dominican Sisters, Sr. Rosalie initially was a teacher at various grade levels in schools throughout Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Connecticut. Sr. Lelia Horkans remembers that early on, Sr. Rosalie was known for her willingness to go the extra mile. She reminisces that while at St. Aloysius School in Wilmerding, Pennsylvania (1949-51), Sr. Rosalie taught the seventh grade, but, in spite of her heavy teaching load, she dedicated much of her free time creating and organizing a new library for the school.
In 1961, Sr. Rosalie retired from teaching and, responding to a need in her congregation, entered the field of health care. She served initially at Mohun Health Care Center, Columbus (1961-66), and then at the St. George Hospital/Kettering Institute, Cincinnati (1966-70), before studying respiration therapy at the University of Kentucky. This new field brought her to Yale-New Haven Hospital in Connecticut, where she served as a respiration therapist for 24 years. Sr. Melanie Hannigan shares that during this time, Sr. Rosalie worked third shift at the hospital, enabling her to have the daytime free, which she often spent in service to others. Whether these were small acts of kindness – like driving an elderly person to the doctor's office – or ongoing service – like teaching catechism for St. Mary's parish – or major projects – like helping with the details of closing St. Mary's High School – if a need was there, you could count on Sr. Rosalie. In true testament to the regard in which Sr. Rosalie was held at Yale-New Haven Hospital, when she later suffered a lung aneurism, the staff showered her with gifts, attention, and support on a daily basis during her hospitalization.
Retiring from the healthcare field, Sr. Rosalie served as a volunteer with St. John the Baptist parish in New Haven from 1995 until 1997, when she began ministering in a new project of her community, Dominican Supported Living Services. Here, her giving heart and generous spirit once again blossomed as she helped mentally disabled women transition to independent living. When asked to share memories of Sr. Rosalie for her Jubilee, a former DSLS resident, expressed that it would be too difficult to think of one thing to share, saying, "Everything she did was so nice!"
In 2003, health reasons compelled Sr. Rosalie to retire to Mohun Health Care Center, where she resides today, embracing a ministry of prayer. |
|
