Sister Teresita of the Child Jesus Tam, one of the seven original founders of Hawaii’s Carmelite monastery, whose artistic and gardening talents brightened the contemplative community for four decades, died Aug. 19 in a Kaneohe care home. She was 95 and a Carmelite for 80 years.
Her superior Sister Agnella Iu described her fellow Carmelite as “a very devoted soul.” “Her motto was ‘Thy will be done,’” she said.
“We all miss her,” Sister Agnella said.
Bishop Larry Silva will celebrate Sister Teresita’s funeral Mass at 9 a.m. Aug. 28 in the Carmelite chapel.
Sister Teresita and six other Carmelite Sisters from China established Hawaii’s first cloistered community in response to an invitation from Honolulu Bishop John J. Scanlan. The Monastery of the Holy Trinity was founded on Oct. 25, 1973, on the grounds of the former St. Stephen Seminary campus in Kaneohe.
The others were Mother Mary Agnes Tse, Sister Agnes Marie Wong, Sister Mary Caroline Chow, Sister Mary Angel Wong, Sister Marie Tang and Sister Agnella.
With Sister Teresita’s death, only two of the original seven remain: Sister Agnella, and Sister Marie Tang, who resides in a care home.
Sister Teresita was born Theresa Tam in China on Jan. 29, 1920. She entered Carmel of Canton in 1935 at age 15. Her “clothing day,” the day she received the Carmelite habit, was Feb. 16, 1938, in Hong Kong. She made her final vows in 1941.
Sister Teresita had served as the mother prioress in Hong Kong for three years before she joined the group moving to Hawaii.
Sister Agnella remembers a humorous incident regarding Sister Teresita as the group prepared for departure to the islands.
“In Carmel, the sisters are each given a number,” Sister Agnella said. “Sister Teresita was the 11th child in her family, the youngest, and by chance she received the number 11. When she got that number we all laughed.
“In Hong Kong, the night before we left for Hawaii, we were saying goodbye to our other sisters. We were sad. Suddenly from outside the monastery we heard a song being sung. The name of the song was ‘Brother 11.’ It broke up our sad goodbyes for a moment, and we all laughed and laughed at the mysterious reference to Sister Teresita’s number.”
In Hawaii, Sister Teresita took up horticulture and ceramic art, among other activities. She grew “beautiful bonzai trees,” Sister Agnella said, which many people bought. She also raised other hothouse plants, crafted hanging baskets, made porcelain flower vases, and was a gifted china painter. She also made cards and bookmarks decorated with dried flowers.
According to Sister Agnella, it was also Sister Teresita’s responsibility “to be the first to greet visitors when they came to our parlor.”
When her health began to fail about three and a half years ago, she moved to a care home in Kaneohe.
Sister Teresita was the last of her family’s 11 siblings to die. She is survived by three nephews and three nieces, who live in Hong Kong and Canada. Her cousin Sister Jaqueline Ho is a Sister of St. Paul of Chartres.
Of Hawaii’s first Carmelites, Sister Teresita’s death was preceded by the deaths of Mother Mary Agnes in 1999, Sister Mary Angel in 2004 and Mother Agnes Marie Wong and Sister Mary Caroline Chow who both died on Oct. 13, 2014, just 10 hours apart.
Today, in addition to Sister Agnella and Sister Marie Tang, Hawaii’s Monastery of the Holy Trinity includes the more recent arrivals, Sister Elizabeth de Jesus, Sister Therese Wilson, Sister Teresa Fu and live-in Lorraine Canales.
