Sister Elaine Dostal papers, 1897 - 2011

Sub-Series — file_cabinet: 1

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

From the Record Group: This collection contains records from all the sisters who make up the DSOH. It includes their personal papers, publications, artistic work, photographs, diplomas, ministry history etc. The Dominican Sisters of Hope were founded in 1995. The group includes members of the former Newburgh Domincan, Fall River Dominican and Ossining Dominican Communities. The sisters work and minister in various ways including community organizing, social work, education, environmental advocacy, and retreat ministry.

Dates

1897 - 2011

Conditions Governing Access

Unrestricted Access. Users have unrestricted access to documents unless stated otherwise.

Biographical / Historical

Sister Elaine was born Margaret Dostal on December 2, 1921 in Trenton, NJ. She entered the Newburgh Congregation on September 8, 1941 and received the habit on June 16 1942 when she was given the religious name, Sister Elaine. She pronounced first vows on June 17, 1943 and final vows on August 25, 1949. During her years in the congregation she served in the following schools: St. Mary, Newburgh, NY; Holy Trinity Passaic, NJ,1945-1953; Sacred Heart, Camden, NJ, 1953-1960; taught math at Mt. St. Mary Academy, Newburgh, NY,1960-1973; and Immaculate High School in Danbury, CT, 1973-1994, where she also chaired the math department. She also served as an adjunct instructor in Mathematics at Mount Saint Mary College, Newburgh, NY in 1961 and taught summer sessions there in the late 1960s. Besides her teaching ministry, she also provided religious services once a week in the Danbury, CT area convalescent/nursing homes: Glenn Hill, Filosa; and Hancock Hall, 1986-1994. Sister Elaine was a finance clerk for the Dominican Sisters of Hope at the Newburgh Center of Hope, 1994-2001. Sister Elaine earned her BA and her MA in Mathematics from Villanova University in PA. She also participated in a Physics Program at Catholic University in the early 1960s. In 1965 she attended the University of Vienna Summer School in Austria for German Studies. She died August 8, 2011.