Sister Aimee Marie Hartley, educator and musician
Sister Aimee Marie Hartley, 92, an educator, pastoral minister, and musician, died Monday, Sept. 17, at McAuley Convent in Merion.
Sister Aimee Marie Hartley, 92, an educator, pastoral minister, and musician, died Monday, Sept. 17, at McAuley Convent in Merion.
Sister Aimee Marie grew up with a sister in Frankford.
In 1938, she graduated from John W. Hallahan Catholic High School for Girls, where she played the violin in the orchestra. She then entered the convent. She professed her vows as a Sister of Mercy in 1941.
She earned a bachelor's degree in education and a master's degree in theology from Villanova University, and a master's degree in pastoral counseling from Iona College in New Rochelle, N.Y.
Sister Aimee Marie spent 24 years in elementary education, teaching at St. Matthias School, Bala Cynwyd; Waldron Academy, Merion; Holy Cross School, Springfield; St. Margaret School, Narberth; Our Lady of Mount Carmel School, Philadelphia; and St. Michael the Archangel School, Levittown. She also taught in elementary schools in Carbon County, Pa., and in Florida and Oregon.
In addition to her classroom duties, she gave piano lessons to students and taught choral music.
For 15 years, beginning in 1965, Sister Aimee Marie taught religion at Archbishop Prendergast High School in Drexel Hill. She also chaired the religion department at Prendergast and served on the Archdiocesan Curriculum Committee.
In 1980, she began a career in pastoral care ministry in area Catholic institutions, including Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital and Mercy Philadelphia Hospital, where she visited patients and brought them Communion.
In recent years, she was a volunteer receptionist at a medical office in Quakertown. She retired to a ministry of prayer at McAuley Convent in August 2011.
Sister Aimee Marie, who studied music at what is now Barry University in Florida and at the Philadelphia Conservatory of Music, played the violin in a Sisters of Mercy orchestra and played the piano and organ during liturgical services.
She is survived by nieces and nephews.
A viewing will be from 9:30 a.m. followed by a Funeral Mass at 10:30, Saturday, Sept. 22, at the Convent of Mercy Chapel, Merion. Burial will follow in the Sisters of Mercy Community Cemetery.
Donations may be made to Sisters of Mercy Mid-Atlantic Community, 515 Montgomery Ave., Merion, Pa. 19066.