Sister Seton Cunneen

1943 - 2021

CUNNEEN Sister Seton Cunneen Sister Seton Cunneen, a member of the Congregation of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur died on March 28, 2021 at Mt. Notre Dame Health Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. She was 77. Sister Seton was born in Orange, New Jersey on July 1, 1943 and is predeceased by her parents Raymond Cunneen and Elizabeth McLaughlin Cunneen, and by her two brothers, Thomas and Msgr. Sean Cunneen of the Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey. Seton came to Washington, D.C. to attend Trinity College (now Trinity Washington University) where she graduated with a major in Greek and Latin; she then earned a master's degree in Greek and Latin from New York University. She joined the Congregation of the Sisters of Notre Dame in 1965 and from 1968 to 1971 chaired the Latin Departments in high schools in Atlanta and Villanova, Pennsylvania where the Sisters of Notre Dame were faculty members. In 1971 she was appointed to the faculty at Trinity College as Chair of the Classics Department. Seton realized that she enjoyed working with young adult women, so in 1980 she changed course, redirecting her energy to pastoral ministry, earning a second master's degree in Religious Studies from Fordham University. She returned to Trinity in 1985 as Director of Campus Ministry, a program she revitalized, enabling students to create community around the campus liturgy and other spiritual programs and by introducing students to the principles and values of social justice. Seton had a remarkable empathy for the marginalized and for those made poor and initiated programs that helped students become aware of structural injustice; she provided them with experiences of direct contact with the poor, placing students at Christ House and at St. Ann's., and working with them at McKenna's Wagon, a mobile kitchen that feeds the homeless. She also brought handicapped students to campus to celebrate Halloween and enjoy Easter Egg Rolls. She also introduced the Spring Break trip to Apopka, Florida where students worked in the fields alongside migrant farmworkers. In 1995, Seton moved to Gonzaga College High School where she had been asked to expand Gonzaga's community service programs and teach Ethics to seniors.In her role as Gonzaga's Director of Christian Service, she continued some of the programs she had established at Trinity including the weekly service for McKenna's Wagon and the Spring Break trip to Apopka, In her endless concern to serve those made poor, she initiated eight service trips for the students each year including Red Cloud, South Dakota, Emmitsburg, Maryland, Camden, New Jersey and international service trips to Guatemala and the Dominican Republic. Seton was a community builder, providing support to the life of Gonzaga including the Mother's Club. In addition to her academic fellowships, she has received many awards including the Trinity Washington University Presidential Leadership Award in 1995 and the Saint Aloysius Gonzaga Award in 2003. Trinity also stablished the Sister Seton Cunneen Fellowship Award, a summer internship program for students to work in a social service agency to strengthen their commitment to social justice. A mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Mark the Evangelist Church, Adelphi, MD. On Wednesday, April 7, at 10:00 am. Live Stream of the Funeral Mass will be available on the Tribute Wall Page of her obituary at www.collinsfunerahome.com in 1985 as Director of Campus Ministry, a program she revitalized, enabling students to create community around the campus liturgy and other spiritual programs and by introducing students to the principles and values of social justice. Seton had a remarkable empathy for the marginalized and for those made poor and initiated programs that helped students become aware of structural injustice; she provided them with experiences of direct contact with the poor, placing students at Christ House and at St. Ann's., and working with them at McKenna's Wagon, a mobile kitchen that feeds the homeless. She also brought handicapped students to campus to celebrate Halloween and enjoy Easter Egg Rolls. She also introduced the Spring Break trip to Apopka, Florida where students worked in the fields alongside migrant farmworkers. In 1995, Seton moved to Gonzaga College High School where she had been asked to expand Gonzaga's community service programs and teach Ethics to seniors.In her role as Gonzaga's Director of Christian Service, she continued some of the programs she had established at Trinity including the weekly service for McKenna's Wagon and the Spring Break trip to Apopka, In her endless concern to serve those made poor, she initiated eight service trips for the students each year including Red Cloud, South Dakota, Emmitsburg, Maryland, Camden, New Jersey and international service trips to Guatemala and the Dominican Republic. Seton was a community builder, providing support to the life of Gonzaga including the Mother's Club. In addition to her academic fellowships, she has received many awards including the Trinity Washington University Presidential Leadership Award in 1995 and the Saint Aloysius Gonzaga Award in 2003. Trinity also stablished the Sister Seton Cunneen Fellowship Award, a summer internship program for students to work in a social service agency to strengthen their commitment to social justice. A mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Mark the Evangelist Church, Adelphi, MD. On Wednesday, April 7, at 10:00 am. Live Stream of the Funeral Mass will be available on the Tribute Wall Page of her obituary at www.collinsfunerahome.com