Obituary of Sr. M. Felicity Gaffney
Sister M. Felicity Gaffney, OSF (1921 – 2021) died at Our Lady of Angels Retirement Home, Joliet, Illinois, on June 5, 2021. Born in Powell, Ohio, Sister Felicity (Joy) Gaffney was the youngest of ten children born to the late Irene (Spring) and James Gaffney. She was preceded in death by her brothers George, James and Paul and her sisters Margaret Lombard, Gertrude Caldwell, Bernie Olsen, Dorothy Thornton, Betty DeJohn, and Mary Waldo. She was a treasured member of the Sisters of St. Francis of Mary Immaculate for 81 years.
Sister Felicity was a member of St. Mary Magdalene Parish in Columbus and attended the parish school. She graduated from St. Mary of the Springs Academy in Columbus and received her Bachelor’s Degree from the College of St. Francis (University of St. Francis) Joliet, Illinois with a major in French. She has a Master of Arts Degree in Education from DePaul University in Chicago. She attended the Franciscan Institute in Theology at the College of St. Francis in Joliet and took courses in Spanish at the University of Colorado in Boulder.
Sister Felicity ministered in the field of education, teaching in various high schools for over 50 years. She began her teaching ministry at St. Francis Academy (Joliet Catholic Academy) in 1943 teaching English and Spanish. She taught at most of the high schools that the Joliet Franciscans staffed in Illinois and Ohio. She taught in schools from California to Florida, in schools of diverse cultures: Indian, Mexican, rural, inner city, private academy, parish schools for girls, co-ed city wide parish schools, large diocesan high schools, and in a GED program.
Due to the restrictions of the COVID virus, there will be no wake for Sister Felicity. She will be interred in the Congregation’s plot at Resurrection Cemetery in Romeoville, IL. A Memorial Mass will be celebrated for Sister Felicity at Our Lady of Angels Retirement Home in Joliet at a future date.
Memorials may be made to the Sisters of St. Francis of Mary Immaculate, 1433 Essington Road, Joliet, IL 60435.
A prayer service for Sr. Felicity will be held Tuesday, June 15, 2021 at 9:30 a.m., at the Fred C. Dames Funeral Home, 3200 Black Road, (at Essington Road), Joliet.
For more information, please call (815) 741-5500 or visit her Memorial Tribute at www.fredcdames.com
