Lifelong educator taught at Holy Cross, Kalaheo
Sister Mary LaStant, a Sister of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary who taught in a Catholic school on Kauai 60 years ago, died Nov. 2 at her congregation’s Marian Hall in Dubuque, Iowa. She was 89 and a religious sister for 68 years.
She was buried at Mount Carmel cemetery in Dubuque.
Sister Mary taught at Holy Cross Grade School in Kalaheo, Kauai, from 1955 to 1962. She was also an elementary school teacher in Sacramento and Glendale, Calif.; Dubuque, Iowa; Chattanooga, Tenn.; and Chicago. She worked in food service at a parish in Berwyn, Ill.
Sister Mary was born in Dubuque on Aug. 10, 1926, to Ernest and Margaret (Melloy) LaStant. She entered the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, also known as the BVM Sisters, on Sept. 8, 1944, from St. Raphael Cathedral, Dubuque. She professed first vows on March 19, 1947, and final vows on Aug. 15, 1952. Her religious name was Sister Adorine.
She was preceded in death by her parents, a brother John and a sister Rita. She is survived by a niece, nephews, and the Sisters of Charity, BVM, with whom she shared life for 71 years.
Memorials may be given to the Sisters of Charity, BVM Support Fund, 1100 Carmel Drive, Dubuque, Iowa 52003, or online at www.bvmcong.org/whatsnew_obits.cfm.