Former CCHS teacher
BELMONT — Mercy Sister Mary Regina Werntz, 76, died March 11, 2021, at Sacred Heart Convent in Belmont. She had been professed as a Sister of Mercy for 59 years.
A private Memorial Mass will be celebrated on Thursday, March 18, 2021, at the Sacred Heart Chapel in Belmont. Sister Regina has donated her body to science with final interment in Dallas, Pa., among the Sisters of Mercy.
Born on Jan. 9, 1945, she was the daughter of Joseph M. Werntz and Constance Witt Werntz of Shamokin, Pa. After attending St. Joseph’s School in Shamokin and St. Cyril Academy in Danville, Pa.,
Regina entered the Sisters of Mercy of Dallas, Pa., in 1962.
Following completion of her novitiate studies, she graduated from Misericordia College in 1968 with a Bachelor of Science in elementary education with a concentration in music. From 1966 to 1977, Sister Regina taught at Catholic elementary schools in Harrisburg, Wilkes-Barre and Lancaster, Pa.; and Bayside, Bethpage and West Islip, N.Y.
After earning a master’s degree in theological studies from the University of Dayton in 1981, she taught high school religion classes at Mount de Sales in Macon, Ga.; Delone Catholic High School in McSherrystown, Pa.; Bishop Hoban in Wilkes-Barre; and Charlotte Catholic High School in Charlotte.
Sister Regina developed her communication skills as a staff writer for Union Scope at the Mercy Union Administration Center in Potomac, Md.; at TSM Creative Services in Pittsburgh; and as director of communications for the Dallas (Pa.) Regional Community.
She and Mercy Sister Mary Ann Brady were co-founders of RSM Creative Services, a unique service that provided hospitals and other Mercy ministries with materials to train lay staff in the spirit and heritage of the Sisters of Mercy. This led to serving in mission effectiveness offices at St. Edward’s Hospital in Fort Smith, Ark.; St. John’s Regional Health Center in Springfield, Mo.; and the Development Office at Mercy Health Center in Baltimore.
Her most recent years of ministry were spent in service to the Sisters of Mercy as a community life coordinator at Mercy Villa retirement convent in Baltimore and in the South Central Archives in Belmont.
Sister Regina was multi-talented and shared her gifts freely. She wrote a book of the sisters’ history, “Our Beloved Union: A History of the Sisters of Mercy of the Union,” published in 1989. She was steeped in Mercy history and loved to share stories about the order. She also played the piano with feeling and wrote numerous hymns based on scripture. Always interested in learning, she looked forward to attending the annual Scripture Institute each summer at Misericordia University in Dallas. In all things, she was creative, knowledgeable, compassionate, generous and outgoing.
Sister Regina was preceded in death by her parents and her brothers Philip, Norman and Joseph.
She is survived by her sister-in-law, Barbara Werntz Benjock, and nieces Linda Slagle of Hickory and Angela Werntz of Belmont.
Memorials may be sent to Sacred Heart Convent, 500 Sacred Heart Circle, Belmont, N.C. 28012 (care of: Mercy Sister Lee Ann McNally).
— Catholic News Herald
BELMONT — Mercy Sister Mary Jerome Spradley died Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021, at Sacred Heart Convent in Belmont. She was 92 years old and had been professed as a Sister of Mercy for 72 years.
A private Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Tuesday, March 2, 2021, in Sacred Heart Convent Chapel.
Interment will follow at Belmont Abbey Cemetery. All services are private because of COVID-19 restrictions, but there will be a memorial celebration at a later date.
Born near Belmont in Stanley, Sister Mary Jerome enjoyed claiming Gaston County as her birthplace. She was the daughter of Espy Dewitt Spradley and Ferrill Edith Poole.
She graduated from the Mercy School of Nursing and, shortly afterward, realized her calling to the Catholic Church and to religious life. She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. She also graduated from the executive Graduate Program in Health Care from the University of South Carolina.
At age 35, Sister Mary Jerome was named administrator of Mercy Hospital. She served on various North Carolina Hospital Association committees. In addition, she served on the Governor’s Board of Ethics in North Carolina, as well as several other boards of directors in Sisters of Mercy ministries. She was a life member fellow in the American College of Health Care Executives.
Among her honors, she was named Outstanding Career Woman of the Year in Medicine and related fields by the Central Charlotte Association. She received honorary degrees from Belmont Abbey College and Sacred Heart College.
She served as a general councilor of the Sisters of Mercy of North Carolina and chair of the Sisters of Mercy of North Carolina Foundation.
Sister Mary Jerome’s life has been one of service – fulfilling her ring motto, “Now not I, but Christ.” – and her accomplishments were many and impressive. She is best known for faithfulness, dependency and consistency and for building construction. It was suggested that, at Mercy Hospital, she moved at least one wall per week. She may have accomplished almost everything she wanted, except learning to play the piano.
She was predeceased by her parents, her brother Scott, and her sister Ferrill. She is survived by the Sisters of Mercy; her nieces, Shirley Kennerly and Melissa Gorman, both of Concord; and her nephew, Scott, of Flagler Beach, Fla.
Memorials may be sent to the Sisters of Mercy, Belmont, NC, or the Sisters of Mercy Foundation, Belmont, NC 28012.
McLean Funeral Home in Belmont was in charge of the arrangements.
— Catholic News Herald