Sister Judith O'Neill, 84, teacher for decades

Sister Judith O'Neill, 84, a teacher in archdiocesan schools for several decades, died Monday, June 29, of cancer at Assisi House in Aston.

She had been a professed member of the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia for 63 years.

Born Marie Veronica O'Neill in Philadelphia, she was a member of St. Benedict Parish and a graduate of Little Flower Catholic High School. She entered the convent in 1949, professing her first vows in 1952.

Sister Judith earned a bachelor's degree in English from Mount St. Mary's University and a master's degree in education from the University of Delaware.

She taught at the elementary, secondary, and college levels. Her specialty was mathematics.

"Sister Judith loved teaching," said Sister Ann Marie Slavin, a Franciscan colleague. "She often said that as long as even one of her students lived, she had a hand in the future. Her students, on the other hand, remembered her as a teacher who cared about each of them as an individual, not as a number."

Sister Judith spent 20 years working in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. She taught at what is now Neumann University from 1994 to 2002 and, after a break, returned there as a faculty adviser until 2013.

From 1994 to 1996, she lived at a home for babies with AIDS in Philadelphia and helped care for the children.

Sister Judith's 30 years in the Archdiocese of Baltimore included teaching at Our Lady of Mount Carmel School, St. Joseph School in Fullerton, St. Peter Claver School, St. Lawrence School in Baltimore, Little Flower School, and the Catholic High School of Baltimore.

She also taught for nine years in the Diocese of Wilmington and for four years in Washington.

She became a resident of Assisi House in 2014 and served in prayer until her death.

Sister Judith is survived by sisters Mary Eigner and Sara Pasquarello; a brother, Hugh; and nieces and nephews.

A Christian wake service at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, July 7, is to be followed by a Funeral Mass at 11 a.m. in Our Lady of Angels Convent, 609 S. Convent Rd., Aston, Pa. 19014. Burial will be in Our Lady of Angels Cemetery.

Donations may be made to the Sisters of St. Francis Foundation at the convent address above.

610-313-8102