Published: September 26, 2008 11:49 pm         

Nun who served at Pathfinder, Fox dies

By Mark Boshnack

Staff Writer

Sister Rose Finnerty, 77, who served as a chaplain at A.O. Fox Memorial Hospital and was a retired special education teacher at Pathfinder Village in Edmeston, died Monday.

The Oneonta resident was remembered by people in both places for her caring and good nature. She had been a sister of Saint Joseph of Carondelet for 57 years. No cause of death was available.

She was a “happy, joyous person,” said Fox spokeswoman Maggie Barnes.

Sister Finnerty was definitely meant to go into pastoral work, Barnes said, and was part of a rotating group of about six who provide chaplain services at Fox.

Sister Finnerty regularly made the rounds on Saturdays, offering support and guidance to patients.

She came to Fox after retiring from Pathfinder Village about two years ago, Barnes said.

According to her obituary, Sister Finnerty had also taught for 25 years at elementary schools in the Albany and Syracuse dioceses. She received a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from The College of Saint Rose and completed her graduate studies in elementary education at State University College at Oswego.

“It’s difficult work,” Barnes said about being a chaplain.

Except for maternity cases, most people are not in a hospital for “happy” reasons, she said, but Sister Finnerty was always “cheerful and full of life.”

She was always willing to do whatever was needed, Barnes said, always willing to learn as much as she could.

This did not always include serious issues, Barnes added.

When teenage patients kept talking about the television show “American Idol,” Sister Finnerty had no idea what it was, Barnes recalled.

She started watching it so she could talk about it with the kids, and she got to be a regular watcher, Barnes said.

At Pathfinder Village, a residential community dedicated to children and adults with Down syndrome, chief executive officer Ed Shafer said, “She was a great teacher.”

She retired from there in 2006, he said.

In her later years, she often worked with children with multiple disabilities, he said, and mobilized a group of teaching assistants to do “a wonderful job” with the children.

There are still residents there who had her as a teacher, he said, and staff will be working with those who need their support in dealing with her death.

She was “committed to the children,” he said.

She always had an “inner calm” that helped her deal with challenges, he said, and it also affected students and staff.

“We were fortunate to have had her,” he said.

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Mark Boshnack can be reached at 432-1000 or (800) 721-1000, ext. 218, or at mboshnack@thedailystar.com.