A private funeral Mass for Sister Mary Ellen Greeley, RSM, was celebrated March 26 in St. Louis. Sister Ellen died March 23 at Catherine’s Residence retirement convent in St. Louis. A Sister of Mercy for 72 years, she was 90 years old.
Born in St. Louis on Oct. 21, 1930, she was the daughter of Raymond J. Greeley and Mamie Crawford Greeley. Sister Ellen had two sisters, Lynn Greeley Hale and Sister Dolores Greeley, who also was a Religious Sister of Mercy. She also had a half-sister, Jean Greeley O’Brien, and a half-brother, Raymond Greeley.
Sister Ellen earned a bachelor’s degree in music education from Webster College (1958), a master’s degree in music education from DePaul University in Chicago (1966) and a doctorate in sociology of religion from Saint Louis University (1973).
As a Sister of Mercy, she ministered in pastoral care and mission integration, most recently as a sister chaplain at Mercy Health Care System in Chesterfield. She also had served in elected leadership for the Sisters of Mercy in St. Louis. Earlier, she taught at St. Joan of Arc School and Mercy High School in St. Louis and St. Ambrose School in Chaffee, Missouri. She served as a retreat director at St. Joseph Convent of Mercy in St. Louis.
Burial was in Calvary Cemetery.
