Obituary of Sister Joan Moser

Sister of Christian Charity Joan Moser passed away on Monday, March 10, 2025, at Mallinckrodt Convent, Mendham, New Jersey. Joan Adelaide Moser was born on November 8, 1945, in the Bronx, New York, the first of three daughters of Joseph J. and Marion (Sattelmeier) Moser. Joan attended grade school in Manhattan and Long Island and graduated from St. Agnes Cathedral High School, Rockville Center, NY. 

Joan earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Hunter College of the City University of New York, and a Master of Arts from New York University. During the first twenty years of her extensive nursing career, Joan worked in various hospitals in New York City and at a hospital in Los Angeles, California. In most of these hospitals, she served as a charge nurse or team leader in the Intensive Care Unit or Recovery Room. Joan expressed her philosophy of nursing in this way: “Nursing was my greatest passion. It was always for me much more than a ‘job.’ It was where I met Christ, wet His lips, and held Him in my arms.”

In 1985, Joan and a friend visited the Motherhouse of the Sisters of Christian Charity in Mendham for the first time.  A year later, Joan entered the community, receiving the Holy Habit on August 21, 1987. Sister Joan professed her first vows on August 16, 1989, and her final vows on August 15, 1995.  

Sister Joan continued her nursing ministry for twelve more years in Pennsylvania at Holy Spirit Hospital, Camp Hill; Divine Providence Hospital, Williamsport; and Holy Family Convent Infirmary, Danville. 

After over thirty years as a nurse, Sister Joan pursued a Certification in Pastoral Ministry from Seton Hall University, South Orange, NJ. She returned to Mendham to begin her studies and was granted this Certification in 2002.  For the next ten years, Sister Joan was the Religion Coordinator at St. Michael School, Netcong, NJ.   

In 2012, Sister Joan returned to Holy Family Convent, Danville, to assist with the retired Sisters there. In May 2018, she was among the Sisters who moved to the new Motherhouse in Mendham, where she participated in a ministry of prayer and presence until her death.

In addition to her “formal” duties, Sister Joan did what was most needed wherever she was. Whether the task was doing laundry, driving Sisters to appointments, or answering the door and telephone, Sister Joan assisted willingly. She also had a heart for the poor and did whatever she could to alleviate their suffering, as evidenced by the thousands of woolen caps she made to give away to those most in need.

In her lifetime, Sister Joan’s spirit of adventure took her to interesting places. While in her twenties, she took the “best vacation of her life” to Hawaii, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Japan.

Sister Joan is predeceased by her parents, Joseph J. and Marion Moser.  She is survived by her sister Terese Moser (husband: Garry Boehlert), her sister Marian C. Moser (husband: John Sultana), and her niece Gianne Sultana. 

Visitation will be held in the Chapel of Mary Immaculate at the Motherhouse in Mendham on Friday, March 14, 2025, from 9 to 10:15 a.m., followed by the celebration of the Liturgy of Christian Burial at 10:30 a.m. The liturgy 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 Joan Moser to the Sisters of Christian Charity, 350 Bernardsville Road, Mendham, NJ, 07945, or at sccus.org/donate