MMC Mourns the Loss of Retired Faculty Member Sr. Margaret Wiener, RSHM

(New York, NY) – Sister Margaret (Sr. Ferdinand) Wiener, RSHM, 83, a retired dedicated member of Marymount Manhattan College’s faculty, died at Marymount Convent, Tarrytown, N.Y., on January 8, 2011. 

Sr. Margaret, associate professor of mathematics, came to the College in the 1950s and retired from teaching at the end of the 1990s. Thereafter, she worked in the library for several years. Sr. Margaret also taught at Marymount School of New York, New York City and Sacred Heart of Mary Academy, Bronx, N.Y. She was a Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary for 62 years, and was an advocate for social justice and peace. 

“I loved the care, kindness and generosity with which [Sr. Margaret] engaged all students who crossed her path in any way,” said Marjorie Madigan, professor emeritus of history. “I loved her attention to justice issues, with respect to the way faculty, staff, and administrators treated each other and students in service to our professional responsibilities. She was our unfailing quiet, but clear and persistent, conscience in our educational work. I admired her support of, and participation in, peace/non-violence and social justice actions both on campus, in and around New York City, and as far away as Nevada.” 

“I remember her devotion to her students and to the College for 47 years,” said Professor Emeritus of English John Costello. “So many of our students, especially the returning ones, had told us that her low-keyed approach freed them from their fear of math and made it possible for them to succeed, not to mention graduate. I recall one faculty development project when I visited her Developmental Math class; I marveled at the clarity of her teaching and at the perseverance it took to repeat the kinds of drills her students needed. She was a woman deeply committed to her spiritual and ethical values through action.” 

Sr. Margaret was living at Marymount Convent, Tarrytown, N.Y., at the time of her death. She is survived by her sister-in-law Joan Wiener of Albany, N.Y., her brother-in-law William Lowell of Silver Spring, Md., and numerous nieces and nephews. 

Services will be held at Marymount Convent, 32 Warren Avenue, Tarrytown, N.Y., from 3:00-7:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 10. The Vigil Service will begin at 7:30 p.m. The Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 11, at the Burial Mount Calvary Cemetery in White Plains, N.Y. In lieu of flowers, gifts in her name may be made to Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary, 50 Wilson Park Drive, Tarrytown, N.Y., 10591. 

Marymount Manhattan College is an urban, independent, liberal arts college. The mission of the College is to educate a socially and economically diverse student body by fostering intellectual achievement and personal growth and by providing opportunities for career development.

Published: January 10, 2011