Obituary: Sister Alice Wengrzynek, M.M.

Sister Alice Wengrzynek, M.M. died on April 30 th , 2020 at the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Maryknoll, NY. She was 85 years old and had been a Maryknoll Sister for 66 years.

Alice was born in Simpson, PA on September 29, 1934 to Anne (Dziadkowicz) Wengrzynek and Walter Wengrzynek. She had one brother, Walter and four sisters, Anne, Mary, Kathryn and Sister Rose Agnes (RSM). She is survived by only one sibling, her sister Anne.

From 1948-1952, Alice attended St. Rose High School in Carbondale, PA. She entered the Maryknoll Sisters Novitiate as a Postulant in Clarks Summit, PA on September 2 nd , 1953. She made her First Profession of Vows at the Maryknoll Sisters Center on March 7 th , 1956 and her Final Vows on March 7 th , 1962 in Kansas City, MO.

Following her First Profession of Vows, Sister Alice was assigned to the Seminary kitchen and served as part-time Secretary to Bishop Raymond A. Lane for one year. In 1958, she enrolled in Mary Rogers College, Maryknoll, NY (located on the Sisters property) where she studied for one year. She then earned a Diploma and Registration in X-Ray Technology at St. Joseph Hospital in Kansas City, MO in 1962.

Sister Alice received her first overseas mission assignment to Taiwan in 1964. There, she did clinic, youth and parish work in Changhua until 1968. She was then assigned to Our Lady of Maryknoll Hospital in Hong Kong, to serve as Director of Hospital Admissions and the Medical Records Department until 1972. She then served as Executive Secretary for Hospital Administrator and Board of Directors; part-time Secretary for the Maryknoll Fathers Regional Superior and Secretary for Asian Bishops Conferences, FABC and Caritas International from 1973-1981.

Sister Alice began a new mission assignment in Hong Kong, working with mentally and physically handicapped children and adults from 1981-1986. She helped teach them skills and techniques to be self-sufficient in their home environments.

During this time, she also responded to an invitation from Education Departments and Governments to help conduct educational workshops in various places such as (Hong Kong, Macao, China, Taiwan and India).

In 1986, Sister Alice returned to the U.S. to work in the Maryknoll Mission Archives Department for the next two years; she also did home ministry caring for her elderly mother until 1989. She then returned to Hong Kong for a brief period, this time doing pastoral work in the New Territories in the Parish of Hung Shui Kui, Yuen Long until 1991.

From 1991-1996, Sister Alice returned to the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Maryknoll, NY and was appointed as Secretary to the President of the Maryknoll Sisters Congregation, Sister Claudette LaVerdiere. She continued her secretarial duties to the new Congregation President, Sister Helene O’Sullivan from 1996-2002.

She spent the next few years serving in the Maryknoll Mission Archives Department once again, this time as the curator of the Sisters collection until 2008. Sister Alice also volunteered around the Maryknoll Sisters Center serving as Assistant Sacristan and Office Assistant in the Physical Plant Department until 2016 when she fully retired.

Funeral Services: Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, funeral services will be scheduled for a date in the future when group gatherings are deemed safe. Sister Alice’s family and our community remember her soul in prayer during this difficult time.