Sister Mary Francis Ryan

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Sister Mary Francis Ryan, RSM, 87, of St. Peter’s Convent, Warwick, R.I., passed away on her birthday, June 7, 2015, surrounded by her loving family and friends.

Born in Providence, she was the daughter of the late Frank J. Ryan and Helen (Waters) Ryan McMahon. She was a 1946 graduate of St. Francis Xavier Academy. Sister entered the Sisters of Mercy on September 8, 1946. She received a Bachelor of Education degree from Catholic Teachers College and a Masters Degree in Education and a Reading Consultant Certification in Early Childhood from Rhode Island College. Sister Mary Francis Ryan was a Sister of Mercy for 69 years and devoted her life to teaching and comforting the sick.

Sister taught at St. Patrick’s School, Fall River, St. Joseph’s (Cleary) School, Fox Point, and St. Peter’s School, Warwick. She was Principal at Mercy Mount Country Day, Cumberland. She was the first Sister of Mercy to be appointed to the Title I-Reading Program in the West Warwick Public Schools (President Lyndon B. Johnson’s initiative to provide equal access to education). Sister served as Director of Reading Services and Early Childhood Coordinator for the Catholic Diocese of Providence from 1972-1988.

Sister was an Adjunct Professor at Rhode Island College, Providence College and the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth where she taught education and supervised student teachers. She served as an Elementary School Reading Teacher in the Warwick Public Schools from 1988 -2000.

Sister retired from teaching in 2012 and continued her ministry as a Pastoral Care Assistant at Kent Hospital in Warwick. She enjoyed visiting and comforting the sick and making everyone happy!

Sister Mary Francis Ryan will be remembered in the hearts of those she touched as a devoted member of the Sisters of Mercy, teacher, friend, daughter, sister and most of all beloved Aunt.

She is survived by her sister, Carol A. Rafanelli of East Greenwich, RI and was the sister of the late Claire Pietrunti and sister-in-law of the late Anthony I. Rafanelli. Sister was the loving aunt (affectionately known as “Aunt Jean” or “AJ”) of Kerry I. Rafanelli, Barry A. Rafanelli and his wife, Carol Rafanelli, Toni L.(Rafanelli) Kittredge and her husband, Joseph P. Kittredge, Bryan F. Rafanelli and his partner, Mark Walsh and Beth-Anne Rafanelli. Aunt Jean was a grand-aunt to Barry and Ryan Rafanelli and Abby, Jillian, and Austin Kittredge. Sister leaves her cousin, Eileen Hitt and her dear friend, Sister Mary Angelus Gabrielle, RSM.

Her funeral will be held on Saturday, June 13, at 9 a.m. from Barrett & Cotter Funeral Home, 1328 Warwick Avenue, Warwick, RI, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 10 a.m. in St. Peter’s Church, 350 Fair St, Warwick, RI. Burial will follow in St. Ann’s Cemetery, Cranston. Relatives and friends are invited, and may visit at the funeral home on Friday, June 12, from 4:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. A Mercy Prayer Service will be held at 4:30 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, gifts in Sister’s memory may be made to: KEEP Program (Kent Employee Emergency Program), 455 Toll Gate Rd., Warwick, RI 02886. www.barrettandcotter.com