Mary F. Stoeckinger

Mary Stoeckinger, 87, of Holy Cross Village, Notre Dame, and formerly of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, entered the beauty of heaven on Wednesday, October 17, 2012, after a long illness.

Mary was born August 27, 1925 in Mishawaka, Indiana, to Wilfrid and Clara (Kline) Stoeckinger. Preceding her in death were her parents and a brother, Louis.

Mary attended St. Joseph Grade School in Mishawaka and graduated from St. Joseph Academy in South Bend. For two years after graduation from high school and during World War II, she worked for the Office of Price Administration, checking merchants’ conformity to the rationing requirements.

On January 21, 1944, Mary entered the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Cross and made final profession of vows on August 15, 1949. She served ten years as Dean of Students at St. Mary’s Academy Twyekenham. Subsequently, Mary was the principal of the girls division at Bishop Noll Institute in Hammond, Indiana, where the Sisters worked with the Christian Brothers of the Chicago Province. She was elected Superior of all Sisters of the Holy Cross serving in the high schools of the Mid-West Region of Holy Cross.

In 1971, Mary was called to a new ministry with the Pittsburgh Public School system, where, over the years, she served as Director of Staff Development and Assistant Director of the Pittsburgh-Mount Oliver Intermediate Unit, through which state funds reached non-public schools. She retired in 1992 and returned to the South Bend/Mishawaka area where her final home became Andre Place, an independent living facility in the retirement community of Holy Cross Village.

Mary is survived by her brother, Bill; four nieces; one nephew; four great nieces and one great-great nephew, as well as Eleanor Fails, her friend of over 50 years, and a host of friends who loved her. She was cared for in her final months by the devoted service of Bertha and Tonya of the Mary Wilson Home Health Care Group.

Visitation will take place Monday, October 22, from 4 - 7 pm in Goethals & Wells Funeral Home, 503 W. 3rd Street, Mishawaka, where the Rosary will be prayed at 7 pm.

Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Tuesday at 10:30 am in the Church of Our Lady of Loretto on the campus of St. Mary’s College with Rev. Paul Doyle, C.S.C. officiating. Visitation will also be Tuesday from 9:30 - 10:30 am in the church. Burial will follow the Mass at Cedar Grove Cemetery.

Donations in Mary’s name are suggested to the Holy Cross Ministry with the Poor of the Sisters of the Holy Cross or to the charity of one’s choice.