Obituary of Sr. Bernadette Desrochers, CND

Sister Bernadette Desrochers, CND (Sister Saint Felicia Marie) a Sister of the Congregation of Notre Dame of Montreal, died peacefully on, Monday, May 20, 2019 at Andrus Retirement Home in Hastings-on-Hudson, NY.  Born in St. Johnsbury, VT in 1934  to Felix Joseph Desrochers and Marie Anna (Pinard) Desrochers, she attended Mount Saint Joseph Academy for elementary and secondary school, where she met the Congregation de Notre Dame Sisters who taught there, and graduated in 1952.

In 1956 Bernadette entered the Congregation of Notre Dame in Bourbonnais, Ill., making her first profession of vows in August,1958 and her perpetual vows in 1964.  She later studied at Notre Dame College of Staten Island, NY and at Centre Sevres de Paris, France.

Her first teaching assignment was in Chicago where she taught English at St. Louis Academy.  She then moved on to New Haven, Conn., to teach Grade 7 at St. John the Baptist School. From 1960 until she retired in 2017, she taught French in six different high schools conducted by the Congregation in New York, Connecticut, Vermont and Rhode Island.

An excellent teacher, Sister Bernadette’s deep commitment to young people in Catholic schools continued for more than sixty years. Her abilities are also reflected in her ministry as bursar at her last mission, Notre Dame Academy, Staten Island, NY.

In January, 2019 Sister Bernadette went to Andrus Retirement Home in Hastings-on-Hudson, NY.  There her influence touched the staff who cared for her, as she treated each one with respect and kindness. She was predeceased by her parents, her five brothers and two sisters.  She will be deeply missed by her nieces, nephews and their families, and by her CND sisters..  A wake and funeral were held at Villa Notre Dame in Wilton, CT on May 23.