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A nun who served at John F. Kennedy Catholic High School for nearly half a century died in a head-on car collision on the Somers-Yorktown Heights border on Route 6.
Sister Barbara Heil, R.D.C., was a fixture at the Somers school from its opening day in September 1967. She wore a welcoming smile working in admissions, taught Latin and math and a host of other subjects in her classrooms, and let her creativity shine as she assisted in drama productions with costumes she sewed by hand.
“We as a school are sad and still grieving her loss, but we thank God for her many years of service,” said Father Mark Vaillancourt, president and principal of Kennedy Catholic, in an interview with CNY.
“Sister Barbara was a very kind, dedicated religious woman,” he said.
Her latest role at Kennedy Catholic was as dean of admissions and Latin teacher. She was also the school sacristan.
“She embodied the call of compassion and kindness, and through her life and example, she taught that to generations of students who have gone through our school,” Father Vaillancourt said. “I’ve always said she loved God and lived for God, and now she lives with God.
“She has entered into her reward to be with God. When we do good things and follow her example, she is alive and among us through the Communion of Saints and our future hope of resurrection.”
Sister Barbara was 80 when she died. The March 4 crash also injured the driver, Sister Marie Murphy, R.D.C., 83, a teacher at Kennedy Catholic who remains in critical but stable condition in the intensive care unit at Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla.
The high school’s students met with members of its guidance team as well as grief counselors from the Archdiocese Drug Abuse Prevention Program (ADAPP) on March 7, the first school day after the accident. A Memorial Mass was offered March 9 at nearby St. Joseph’s Church for the entire school community.
The Family Association is collecting donations to restore the school grotto in Sister Barbara’s name.
Sister Barbara began teaching at St. Lawrence O’Toole in Brewster, and in 1962, she moved to St. Mary’s High School in Katonah, which was renamed John F. Kennedy in 1967. Sister Barbara also taught religious education at St. Patrick’s parish in Armonk and volunteered with the Sisters of the Divine Compassion Mexican Migrant Ministry in Goshen for years.
Formerly known as Sister DeLourdes Marie, she was born in New York City. She entered the Sisters of the Divine Compassion in 1957 and professed final vows in 1965. She held a bachelor’s degree from Good Counsel College and master’s degrees from Villanova and Notre Dame University.
“As Sister Barbara knew and lived, divine compassion holds us, heals us and is what we share and offer to each other and the world. We will miss her deeply,” said Sister Carol Wagner, R.D.C., president of the Sisters of the Divine Compassion, in a statement.
“May we walk together in her legacy of love and peace, embracing all! We are united in shared pain with the Kennedy Catholic Community. We hold in our hearts and prayers Sister Marie Murphy and the second driver in this tragic accident.”
The other driver was 48-year-old Christina Deagan of Cortlandt Manor. She was traveling westbound in her Suzuki when she entered the eastbound lane for unknown reasons, the state police report said. The investigation was ongoing as CNY went to press.
Sister Barbara is survived by her brother, James.
A Funeral Mass was offered March 11 in the Chapel of the Divine Compassion in White Plains. Burial was in Mount Calvary Cemetery, White Plains.
