Sr. Kathleen Gingras, RGS

            Sister Kathleen Gingras (Kathleen Tarcisius) died on September 20, 2020 at Metrowest Medical Center after a short illness.  She was 88 years of age and had been a Contemplative Sister of the Good Shepherd for 71 years.

            Sister Kathleen was born in 1932 in Greenfield, MA, the daughter of Harry L. and Elizabeth (Breinig) Gingras.  Sister attended the Pioneer Valley grammar school in Northfield, MA and graduated from Our Lady of Lourdes School in Springfield, MA.

            In 1949 Sister Kathleen entered the Novitiate of the Contemplative Sisters of the Good Shepherd where she received her training in the life and works of the contemplative sisters.  Sister made her first vows in 1954 and pronounced her final vows in 1960.

            Sister was missioned to the Contemplative community in Springfield, MA in 1954 working as a seamstress.  Sister was later missioned to Troy, NY where she served in the Altar Bread department.  In 1966 she was missioned to Springfield, MA where she worked baking altar breads and also assisted in the finance office

            In 1999 Sister was missioned to Trenton, NJ and later to Wickatunk, NJ.  In 2006 Sister Kathleen was missioned to Good Shepherd Center in Marlborough, MA where she continued her work with the sisters serving in Pastoral Care and later as coordinator of the Contemplative Community.  In 2017 she was transferred to Bethany Health Care Center due to increased health care needs  where she continued her ministry of prayer.

            Sister is survived by her good friends Rick and Suzanne Clarkson, who have been so faithful through the years, cousins and her Good Shepherd Community.

           Burial will be at Mt. Benedict Cemetery, West Roxbury, MA at 11 a.m. on Friday, September 25, 2020. A Mass of celebration will be offered at a later time.

            Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Collins Funeral Home, 378 Lincoln Street, Marlborough.  www.collinsfuneral.com  Expressions of sympathy in Sister Kathleen’s memory may be made to the Good Shepherd Retirement Fund, 420 Hemenway Street, Suite 466, 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.