A wake and Mass of Christian Burial for Franciscan Sister of the Poor Mary Immaculate Mendoza (nee Phyllis Diaz) was celebrated Jan. 12 in St. Clare Convent Chapel in Cincinnati. Sister Mary Immaculate, 86, died on Jan. 9 in Cincinnati. During her 57 years as a Franciscan Sister of the Poor, she served the poor in social services in Steubenville, Ohio and Flint; in medical recordkeeping at St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Dayton, Ohio, and the former Franciscan Terrace in Cincinnati. In retirement, she served as sacristan at Franciscan Terrace.
In Flint, she was named 1980 Woman of the Year by Beta Sigma Phi sorority for her outstanding contributions to the local immigrant community through her service at Holy Angels Convent and a local community garden.
She is survived by her sisters in Christ, the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor, and her sisters Mary Soister of Albuquerque, N.M., Kathleen Lettofsky of Frederick, Md., and Jane Monarrez of Sparks, Nev., and numerous nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by her parents Matiana (Diaz) and Ebidio Chavez Mendoza; brothers Antonio, Nicacio, Francisco, Alberto and Saturnino; and sisters Vicenta, Amada and Lucretia. Interment was in the convent cemetery.
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