A funeral Mass for Sister Geraldine Simonds was celebrated Feb. 19 at The Sarah Community Marian Chapel in Bridgeton. Sister Geraldine died Feb. 17 at The Sarah Community. She was 97 years old and had a 77-year vocation as a Daughter of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul.
Born in Boston, Sister Geraldine entered the Daughters of Charity in St. Louis in 1942. She earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Fontbonne College (now University) in St. Louis in 1949.
After completing her initial formation, Sister Geraldine served for nearly 40 years as an elementary teacher. In the Archdiocese of St. Louis, she taught at St. Vincent School in Perryville (1943-49); St. Patrick School in St. Louis (1957-60); St. Catherine Labouré School in Sappington (1965-70); and St. Boniface School in Perryville (1971-82). She also taught at schools in Dallas and in Mississippi.
In 1982, Sister Geraldine began working in parish ministry in Keokuk, Iowa. In 1986, she returned to the St. Louis area to serve as a patient visitor at DePaul Health Center in Bridgeton. In 1992, Sister Geraldine moved to Texas, where she served for the next 15 years in volunteer services at several hospitals and centers in the Ft. Worth/Dallas areas before returning to parish ministry there. In 2007, Sister Geraldine moved to The Sarah Community.
Survivors include a brother, Frank Curry of Santee, California. Burial was in Marillac Cemetery in Normandy.
