Obituary of Sr. Marie Alice McNelis SNDdeN

McNelis, Sr. Marie Alice, SNDdeN, (Catherine Agnes Mc Nelis), went to her good God on July 20, 2019. She was born in Cambridge, MA in 1921, one of ten children of Anthony and Elizabeth (Dinan) McNelis of Ireland. After completing high school at Cambridge High and Latin, Sr. Marie Alice entered the Sisters of Notre Dame in Waltham, MA. on August 8, 1939. She made her first vows on January 30, 1942 and her final vows on July 30, 1947. Emmanuel College awarded her a BA in English and Boston College a MA in English. Sr. Marie is the last of her nine siblings. John, Joseph, Anthony, William, James, Mary O’Neil, Margaret Gray, Mabel Sorrentino, and Alice Winsor all preceded her in death. She is survived by her nieces Maureen Tomlinson and Janice Travers who were extraordinarily devoted to their aunt through the years. Most of Sr. Marie Alice years of ministry were spent in the classroom teaching grades 3-8. She especially loved teaching English in Jr. High school. She served in schools in Salem, Brighton, Boston, Somerville, Lawrence, East Boston, Waltham, Dorchester, Chelmsford, Methuen, Hudson and Hamden CT. After her years of teaching, Sr. Marie Alice became certified and worked with people suffering from addictions. In 1981 Sr. Alice Marie came to Ipswich to work as transportation coordinator and later in the finance office. She retired in 2002. It is hard for us who shared life with Sr. Marie Alice to describe what her daily presence to us was like. She was a breath of fresh air and joy. There was never a moment when one wondered what she was thinking. She was direct, compassionate, humorous and made every effort to engage life with those around her. She was a very loved member of the community. She and her wonderful stories will be sorely missed. The celebration of Sister’s life will take place at Mary Queen Chapel in Ipswich on Wednesday July 24, 2019 with a wake at 1:00 pm, prayer service at 2:00 pm and liturgy of Christian burial at 3:00 PM. Burial will follow after the Mass. Donations in sister’s memory may be made to the Sisters of Notre Dame, 30 Jeffreys Neck Rd., Ipswich, MA 01938. Arrangements were made by the Conway, Cahill-Brodeur Funeral Home, 82 Lynn St., Peabody, MA. To view online obituary and sign guestbook, visit www.ccbfuneral.com.