Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet Rosemarie Montoya
Carondelet sister taught at St. Anthony, Kailua, for 24 years
Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet Rosemarie Montoya, who taught for 24 years at St. Anthony School in Kailua, the last of her community to be on the faculty, died April 28 in Los Angeles. She was 66 and a religious sister for 44 years.
“I have a passion for teaching our Catholic faith,” said Sister Montoya in a 2014 Hawaii Catholic Herald story. “In many of our homes and in some families, that isn’t always a priority.”
At St. Anthony, she taught religion in the middle school. She also did all the planning for all the school Masses and special prayer services.
“So I appreciate it when I get to spend time with the school children in class and they get excited about something that we are doing,” she said. “Whether it be going through a PowerPoint presentation on the saints, or a skit that they are presenting to the rest of the class, there are many creative ways the students are engaged in to learn about and share the faith.”
One aspect of the St. Anthony curriculum that gave her much satisfaction was the requirement for students to perform service hours.
“It is really important that the kids learn to share their gifts and talents without expecting anything in return,” she told the Hawaii Catholic Herald. “They get excited as they are given the opportunity to choose whatever service project they want to be involved in.”
This included visiting Shriner’s hospital, accompanying those with developmental disabilities, cleaning Kawainui Marsh and joining a choir.
Affectionately called Rosie, Sister Montoya was born in Los Angeles on May 10, 1956, into a family of eight children. Her family described her as solid, steady and industrious.
Before joining the Los Angeles province of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet in September 1978, she studied history and religion at Loyola Marymount University.
After joining the Carondelet community, she took graduate courses in religious studies at Mount Saint Mary’s College in Los Angeles.
Before coming to Hawaii in 1991, Sister Montoya taught in schools in Washington state and California. St. Anthony School in Kailua was her last teaching assignment.
In 2015, at age 59, she returned to Carondelet Center in Los Angeles because of health issues. She left behind many long-time friends and close relationships from her years in Hawaii.