Sister Grace Ball papers, 1923 - 2015

Sister Grace was born Grace Ball on March 14, 1926 in Brooklyn, NY. She entered the Newburgh Congregation October 3, 1943 and received the habit on June 18, 1944 when she received the religious name, Sister Marie Francine. (She began using the name, Sister Grace after Vatican II). She pronounced first vows on June 21, 1945 and final vows on August 25, 1949. During her years in the congregation she served in the following schools: St. Mary, Gloucester, NJ, 1945-1953; St. Boniface, Paterson, NJ, 1972-1974; Bishop Navagh Regional Elementary School, Paterson, NJ, 1974-75; Sacred Heart, Camden, NJ, 1975-1978; Star of the Sea, Long Branch, NJ, 1983-1986; and St. Mary, Gloucester, NJ, 1986-1988. She also taught at Academia San Jose Elementary School in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, 1953-1967, 1978-1983, and 1987-1992. She served as principal at San Jose School in Lorenzo, Puerto Rico,1967-1972. In later years, Sister Grace was a child care worker at St. Vincent’s Tacony, Philadelphia, PA, 1992-2002. Sister grace earned a BS in Elementary Education from Villanova University in PA. Sister Grace moved to the Meadowview at Wartburg, Mt. Vernon, NY. She died December 12, 2015.