Sr. Miriam Thomas Rychlicki, OP

                           Born into Eternal Life February 5, 2009

Sister Miriam Thomas Rychlicki, OP, of Dominican Convent, Sparkill, New York, died on February 5, 2009 in Siena Hall Infirmary, Dominican Convent, 175 Route 340, Sparkill, NY.

Born in St. Louis, MO, October 25, 1918, Blanche Rychlicki was the daughter of Wladirlis and Marie Beehler Rychlicki.  She entered the Dominican Congregation of Our Lady of the Rosary in Sparkill in 1936 and became known as Sister Miriam Thomas, professing her first vows in 1938 and final vows in 1943.

Sister Miriam Thomas earned a BA in English from Manhattan College in 1947.

During her professional life, Sister Miriam Thomas taught elementary school from 1938 - 1995 in the Archdioceses of New York and St. Louis, and in the Dioceses of Brooklyn and Syracuse.  In New York she taught at Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Richmond Hill; St. Rose of Lima, Manhattan; St. Paul, Norwich, NY; St. Mary, Fulton, NY.  In St. Louis she taught at St. James, Holy Redeemer, St. Mark and St. Simon.  For six years she served as the principal at Holy Family School in Fulton, NY and for five years was librarian at St. James in St. Louis, MO.  Upon retiring she offered local community service at St. Kevin’s Convent and Loretto Center in St. Louis.  She took up residence in Siena Hall Infirmary in 2002.

Sister Miriam Thomas is survived by her cousins living in St. Louis and Illinois.

Sister Miriam Thomas will be remembered for her gentle and compassionate way of reaching out to others.  Her dedication to the students whose lives she has touched throughout her fifty-seven years in the educational field has been a blessing for them. She was very grateful for the care given to her in Siena Hall Infirmary and was always pleasant and accepting of each day.   We thank God for the gift of her life as a Dominican Sister for seventy-two years and we ask God to grant her eternal rest.  Amen.