Sr. Mary Pires C.D.P., of Kingston, Sister of Divine Providence for 61 years, died May 22, 2012. She was born August 4, 1926, daughter of Manuel and Mary (Dores) Pires. She is survived by her siblings Minnie Tavares, Sylvia Philip, Elaine Sturtevant, Manuel Pires, and the late Alda Valenziano, and Evelyn Whitcomb. She also leaves her beloved Nieces and Nephews.
Sr. Mary served for two years as a teacher in Pittsburgh before returning to teach at Sacred Heart High School in Kingston. Sr. Mary has the distinct honor of being the only member of the Sisters of the Divine Providence who is a native of Kingston. An expert cook and baker, she has used her culinary skills to bring joy to her Sisters in Community and to her friends and family as well. After a number of years in schools, the Community asked her to return to study, and Sister Mary became a registered dietician, spending eight years serving at the VA Hospital in Providence, RI. Sr. Mary used her gift with the elderly by serving in a Grandparent Adoption Program, various outreach ministries to the elderly, and head of the Love Program at St. Joseph's for several years, as well as a faithful friend to the residents of Wingate at Silver Lake in Kingston.
Visiting hours will be held on Monday, May 28th, at the Providence House, 363 Bishop's Highway, Kingston from 2-5 and 6-7:30PM. A funeral mass will be celebrated on Tuesday, May 29th at 3:30 PM at Sacred Heart High School Chapel, 399 Bishop's Highway, Kingston. Interment will be in Our Lady of Divine Providence cemetery, Kingston. Donations may be made in Sr. Mary's memory to the Lourdes Center, 363 Bishop's Highway, Kingston, MA 02364.