Island-born Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet was a religious for 69 years
Honolulu-born Sister Tomasa Marcos, a Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet who served for many years as a teacher and vice-principal at Holy Trinity School in Kuliouou, died April 29 in Honolulu. She was 88 and in religious life for 69 years.
“Tomasa had a wonderful sense of humor and a great laugh, which she used often,” her Carondelet community said in a statement announcing her death. “She loved playing Scrabble and Solitaire, sewing, doing a variety of arts and crafts, enjoyed gardening and liked to travel.”
One special trip was to Ireland with her good friend and fellow Carondelet Sister Anita Marie Rosco.
Sister Tomasa also spent time attending enrichment courses at Chaminade University of Honolulu and a variety of classes offered by the diocesan department of religious education.
Her funeral is May 28 at Holy Trinity Church. Visitation is 9-10 a.m. with Mass at 10:30 a.m. Burial will be at 2 p.m. at Diamond Head Memorial Park.
Tomasa Marcos was born in Honolulu on June 19, 1930, the fourth of six children. Her parents were Platon and Calesta (Doropan) Marcos, and the family eventually included brothers Jose, Anacleto and Bernard, and sisters Virginia and Philomena. Tomasa’s mother died when she was 5. Her father never remarried.
She was baptized and made her first Communion at St. Elizabeth Church in Aiea and was confirmed at St. Joseph Church, Waipahu. She attended Aiea Elementary School, August Ahrens Elementary, Waipahu Elementary, and graduated from Waipahu High School in 1949.
As a teenager, at the invitation of Mina Ringor, later Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet Margarita Marie, she was active in the Sodality at St. Joseph Parish, Waipahu, and in the choir. She also volunteered as a church cleaner. It was in this latter position that she first met the Sisters of St. Joseph. She told a parish priest that she wanted to join the Maryknoll Sisters, but he referred her to the Carondelets in the convent.
Sister Tomasa traveled to Los Angeles for the first time with Papaniana (Sister Carmen) Paas, and Remiya (Sister Teresa Ann) Coronas. She was accepted as a postulant in February 1950 and as a novice in August of that same year. She took the religious name Sister Philomena Mary.
She made her first vows in 1952 and her final vows in 1957. She earned a bachelor of arts degree in English at Mount St. Mary’s College along with her teaching credentials, and later, in Hawaii, her certificates in religious education.
She was first assigned to teach at St. Patrick School in Oakland, California. She then spent nine years as a cook for boarders and sisters on retreat at Our Lady of Peace Academy in San Diego. That was followed by eight years teaching grade three at Our Lady of Angels School in San Diego.
She returned to Hawaii to work from 1976 to 1990 at Holy Trinity School as vice principal and third grade teacher. Sister Tomasa then took a year’s sabbatical in St. Paul, Minnesota, before returning to Holy Trinity School to serve in various capacities, including teacher, vice principal, and librarian, until 2010. She then took on the ministry of prayer and witness.
In her final weeks, Sister Tomasa was with the Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities in Hawaii.
Sister Tomasa is survived by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, her sisters-in-law Mary and Florence Marcos, nephews Bernard, Michael and Mark Marcos, and their families.
