Obituary of Sister Virginia Ann Barry

Sister of Christian Charity Virginia Ann Barry passed away on Friday, October 27, 2023, at Mallinckrodt Convent, Mendham, New Jersey. Virginia Ann Barry was born in Orange, New Jersey, on November 6, 1928, to William Thomas and Mary Catherine (Richard) Barry. Virginia entered the Sisters of Christian Charity on October 7, 1951, in Mendham and began her Novitiate on August 21, 1952, receiving the name Sister Therese. (Years later, she would return to her baptismal name and was known as Sister Virginia Ann.) She professed her First Vows on August 21, 1954, and her Perpetual Vows on August 20, 1960.

Sister Virginia Ann was a graduate of St. Virgil’s School, Morris Plains, NJ, and Bayley Catholic High School, Morristown, NJ. She earned a Bachelor of Arts from Seton Hall University, South Orange, NJ, and a Master of Arts from Providence College, Providence, RI. 

Sister Virginia Ann’s 71 years as a Sister of Christian Charity were lovingly dedicated to education at St. Nicholas School, Jersey City, NJ; St. Boniface School, Williamsport, PA; West Catholic Girls’ High School, Philadelphia, PA; and Immaculate Conception School, the Bronx, NY, where she was also on the Guidance staff. Sister served as the Director of Religious Education at St. Joseph’s Church, Mendham, NJ, for seven years and as Director of Religious Education at Our Lady of the Mountain Parish, Long Valley, NJ, for twenty-seven years.  For her longstanding dedication to young people, Our Lady of the Mountain Parish dedicated a statue of the Madonna and the Children in honor of Sister Virginia Ann on Mother’s Day in 2006.

In 2007, Sister Virginia Ann entered into full-time retreat ministry at Villa Pauline, Mendham, and in 2009 she became an assistant in the SCC Development Office while sharing in the hospitality duties at the entrance of the Motherhouse in Mendham. In May 2018, Sister retired to the new Motherhouse in Mendham where she participated in a ministry of prayer and presence until the time of her death. 

Sister Virginia Ann is survived by the Sisters of Christian Charity and by her siblings and their spouses: Earl P. Barry and his wife, Jean; Therese M. Terreri; Richard H. Barry and his wife, Nancy; Kathleen P. Budd and her husband, Merritt; Frances C. Berg; Phillip J. Barry and his wife, Patricia; Stephen G. Barry and his wife, Susan; and Suzzanne L. Murphy and her husband, Michael. Sister isalso survived by her sisters-in-law: Patricia Barry, Barbara Barry, Emma Barry, and Laura Barry, as well as her extended family of 57 beloved nieces and nephews, their spouses and children. 

Sister was predeceased by her brothers, Michael W. Barry, and his wife, Agnes; Joseph E. Barry; William R. Barry; John T. Barry and his wife, Joan; Edmund J. Barry; and David A. Barry; and her brothers-in-law, Richard Terreriand George Berg.

Visitation will be held in the Chapel of Mary Immaculate at the Motherhouse in Mendham on Wednesday, November 1, from 1:30 – 4:30 p.m. with Vespers being prayed at 4:30 p.m. The Liturgy of Christian Burial will be celebrated at the Chapel of Mary Immaculate on Thursday, November 2 at 11 a.m., and will be livestreamed at sccus.org. Interment will follow at Holy Cross Cemetery on the grounds of the Motherhouse. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in memory of Sister Virginia Ann Barry to the Sisters of Christian Charity, 350 Bernardsville Road, Mendham, NJ, 07945, or at sccus.org/donate.