July 15, 1947 – June 24, 2024
Sr. Mary Thérèse Baptiste, age 76, was called to eternal life on June 24, 2024, at Ascension Mercy Hospital in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
Sr. Thérèse, born on July 15, 1947, in Grenada, West Indies, was named and baptized Lucille Rebecca Baptiste. Lucille was one of seven children and a twin to her sister, Rebecca, born to John and Edna (Henry) Baptiste.
Lucille entered the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother community on April 28, 1963, in Villa Maria, Barbados, West Indies, and professed first vows on August 12, 1967, in Villa Maria, Barbados, West Indies, receiving the name Sister Mary Thérèse Baptiste. Sr. Thérèse celebrated her Silver Jubilee in 1992 in Denville, NJ. She celebrated her Golden Jubilee on August 12, 2018, in Oshkosh, WI.
As a Sister of the Sorrowful Mother, Sr. Thérèse ministered as a teacher starting at St. Rose Modern Secondary School in Grenada and later served as the Principal for 6 ½ years. She obtained a BA degree from the University of the West Indies, a Master of Science degree in Counseling at Loyola University in Louisiana, and a PhD in Counseling Psychology from Fordham University in New York. Sr. Thérèse has done ministry as a counselor/psychologist at the following places: St. Clare’s Hospital in Denville, New Jersey; Catholic Charities in Beaumont, Texas; Catholic Charities in Houston, Texas; Shiloh Treatment Center in Manvel, Texas; and at St. John’s Medical Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She retired to SSM Franciscan Courts on September 28, 2021.
Sr. Thérèse will be remembered for her work with the poor, starting up a special soup kitchen in Gouyave, Grenada, West Indies, sending money and clothing whenever she could, and for her love of cooking and baking treats for the Sisters to enjoy at the Courts. Her life’s hope was to love and serve God’s poor, without reservation. May she now rest in the loving peace of God.
Sr. Thérèse was preceded in death by her parents, John and Edna Baptiste, her sisters, Claris Gay, Beatrice Scott, her twin sister Rebecca Roberts, and her brother Miller David. She is survived by her sisters Germaine Louison in Texas and Winnefred Baptiste in the United Kingdom. Homecoming was held on July 1, 2024, at 4:00 p.m. at SSM Franciscan Courts in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on July 2, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. at Franciscan Courts, Oshkosh with Father Tom Long officiating. Burial took place at Calvary Catholic Cemetery, Oshkosh, WI.
Submitted by Sr. Judith Marie Beck