Sister Theresa Ann McElroy

Sister Theresa Ann McElroy, I.H.M., (formerly known as Sister M. Louisa) of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, died Saturday, Oct. 6, at Our Lady of Peace Residence in Scranton.

Born July 31, 1931, in Providence, R.I., she was the daughter of the late Raymond P. and Louise T. Miller McElroy. She entered the IHM Congregation on Sept. 7, 1948, and made her temporary profession of vows on May 8, 1951, and her final profession of vows on Aug. 2, 1954.

Sister Theresa served as a teacher at the following schools: St. Ephrem Elementary in Brooklyn, N.Y., from 1951 to 1952; Our Lady of Good Counsel Elementary in Inwood, N.Y., from 1952 to 1953; St. Mary Elementary in Manhasset, N.Y., from 1953 to 1961; St. Peter of Alcantara Elementary in Port Washington, N.Y., from 1961 to 1967; and Santisimo Nombre de Jesus Elementary in Lima, Peru, from 1967 to 1975.

She also served as a pastoral minister at Santisimo Nombre de Jesus Parish in Lima, Peru, from 1975 to 1978; pastoral minister at Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish in New York City from 1978 to 1982; youth ministry at Avila Center in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, from 1982 to 1984; parish minister at St. Gertrude Parish in Far Rockaway, N.Y., from 1984 to 1985; director of religious education at St. Joseph's Center in Scranton, from 1985 to 1989; coordinator of tutors at Casa Hogar Juan Pablo II Lurin Lima, Peru, from 1989 to 1991; pastoral care at Marian Community Hospital in Carbondale, from 1992 to 1997; community outreach at Marian Community Hospital in Carbondale, from 1997 to 1999; and minister to the sick and elderly at St. John the Evangelist Parish in Silver Spring, Md., from 2000 to 2012.

From 2012 until the time of her death, Sister Theresa was a prayer minister at Our Lady of Peace Residence in Scranton.

She received a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science degree in education from Marywood College.

She was preceded in death by three brothers, Raymond, James and Joseph; and two sisters, Katherine L. Buckley and Esther Lutz.

She is survived by nieces and nephews and by the members of the IHM Congregation.

The funeral will be Wednesday, Oct. 10, at 11 a.m. with Mass of Christian Burial at Our Lady of Peace Residence, 2300 Adams Ave., Scranton. Friends may call at Our Lady of Peace Residence on Tuesday, Oct. 9, from 3 to 5 p.m. A prayer service will be held at 4. Interment will follow Mass on Wednesday at St. Catherine's Cemetery in Moscow.

Memorial contributions may be made to support the retired IHM Sisters c/o the IHM Sisters Retirement Fund, IHM Center, 2300 Adams Ave., Scranton, PA 18509.