Sister M. George (Rita) Guertin, 98, a Sister of Mercy for 72 years, died on Wednesday, December 7, 2011, at Warde Health Center in Windham, New Hampshire, after a period of declining health.
A native of Manchester, N.H., she was the daughter of Jean Baptiste and Angeline (Burque) Guertin. The Most Reverend George Albert Guertin, third bishop of the Diocese of Manchester, was her uncle.
Sister George received her B.A. degree in French from Mount St. Mary College in Hooksett, N.H. She also held an M.A. in French from Boston College and did further studies in French at the Institut Catholique in Paris, France.
For 35 years, Sister George taught languages, primarily French and Spanish, at the secondary school and college levels. She was a teacher at St. Joseph High School for Girls in Manchester and at Mount Saint Mary Seminary in Hooksett and Nashua. From 1957 until 1978 she taught French, Spanish, and Latin, and was head of the department of modern languages at Mount Saint Mary College.
After the college closed in 1978, Sister George went to Catholic Medical Center in Manchester where she was an assistant to the chaplain, making pastoral visits to patients. For five years she volunteered as a tutor at the Hillsborough House of Correction in Manchester, where she taught English to French- and Spanish-speaking men. She also tutored local students in French.
In 1989, she moved to Warde Health Center in Windham, N.H. There she helped in the center’s gift shop, and visited and prayed with the residents.
Family members include several nieces and nephews.
Friends may call at the Warde Health Center, 21 Searles Road, Windham, N.H., from 10 to 11 a.m., on Monday, December 12. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated in Our Lady of Mercy Chapel, Warde Health Center, 21 Searles Road, Windham, New Hampshire, at 11 a.m. Burial will be at St. Joseph Cemetery, Bedford, N.H.
Memorial donations may be made to the Sisters of Mercy, 21 Searles Road, PO Box 420, Windham, NH 03087-0420.