Marlborough- Sister Catherine Rose Poquette died on May 16, 2016 at St. Patrick's Manor, Framingham.  Sister was 83 years of age and had been a Contemplative Sister of the Good Shepherd for 63 years.  Sister was born in 1933, in Burlington, VT, the daughter of Delphise and Melvina (Socia) Poquette.  She attended Guardian Angel School in Troy, NY and graduated from Catholic Central High in NY.  She went on to study at Rutland Business College in Rutland, VT.  In 1952, Sister Catherine Rose entered the Novitiate of the Contemplative Sisters of the Good Shepherd in Peekskill, NY.  Sister pronounced her first vows in 1955 and made her perpetual vows in 1961.

Sister Catherine Rose was a gifted seamstress and also served in the ministry of baking altar bread in the Contemplative community in Troy, NY. Her business training enabled her to efficiently manage the altar bread accounts with great skill and care. In 1964 the Contemplative sisters were trained in weaving and for the next 35 years Sister Catherine Rose engaged in the art of weaving altar vestments in the Troy, NY and the Springfield, MA communities.  Sister was also local community leader in both the Springfield, MA and Trenton, NJ Contemplative communities and is fondly remembered for her kind and gentle leadership.  In 1999 Sister was missioned to the Contemplative community in Trenton, NJ and then to Wickatunk, NJ.  In 2007, due to failing health, Sister was transferred to Good Shepherd Center in Marlborough, MA.  Sister then went to St. Patrick's Manor, Framingham, MA in 2011. Sister is predeceased by one sister and several brothers.

Visiting hours will be at Good Shepherd Center, 406 Hemenway Street, Marlborough, MA on Thursday, May 19, 2016 from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. with a Prayer Service at 7:00 p.m.  A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered for Sister Catherine Rose at Good Shepherd Center on Friday, May 20, 2016 at 10:00 a.m.  Burial will be at St. Mary's Cemetery in Northampton, MA.      Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Fitzgerald & Collins Funeral Home ( www.collinsfuneral.com ), 378 Lincoln Street, Marlborough.  Expressions of sympathy in Sister Catherine's memory may be made to the Good Shepherd Retirement Fund, 406 Hemenway Street, Marlborough, MA 01752.

The Sisters of the Good Shepherd were founded by St. Mary Euphrasia Pelletier in Angers, France in 1835, in the United States (Louisville, KY) in 1843, and in Boston in 1867.