Eileen Prior and her twin sister Theresa were born to John Prior and Mary Heslin, both from Co. Leitrim, Ireland, on May 9, 1931, and were baptized at St. Andrew the Apostle Church in Forest Hills, Massachusetts. They were preceded by Frank, Marie, and John. Billy was the youngest.
All attended Forest Hills Elementary School; Eileen and Theresa received First communion in second grade, and were confirmed by Archbishop Richard Cushing in eighth grade. Because there were no openings in the parish high school, Eileen and Theresa enrolled in Mission Church High School in Roxbury in 1945. Theresa stayed only one year, but Eileen (our Sister Theresa) stayed to “enjoy playing varsity basketball and being head of the dance committee,” in her junior and senior years. The four years ended with a “wonderful graduation.”
Sister Theresa wrote in her autobiography, “My family took many enjoyable summer outings to the Arboretum and Franklin Park. We also often went to City Point, a beach in South Boston, where my twin sister would swim and I would watch from the shore. These were typical recreation spots around Boston in those days.”
Sister Connie Carrigan, who interviewed her at Wilton, quoted Theresa as saying,
I always wanted to be a teacher, and my twin wanted
to be a nurse, and both of us wanted to enter the convent.
She left first to enter the Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston
and became Sister Eileen (my baptismal name). The
following year, 1949, I took the train to Baltimore with
13 others from the Boston area and entered SSND. At my
Reception two years later I got Theresa, my sister’s
baptismal name – a bit confusing for those who knew us.
(Originally, she was Theresa of Avila, but that was later simplified.)
Candidate Eileen taught second graders for two years. This ministry brought her a life-long friendship with Sister Frances Angermaier. With her first profession on August 2, 1952, she was missioned to St. John the Evangelist in Bergenfield, NJ, where she remained until 1960. She made her final profession of vows in 1958, and then spent the years 1960 to 1962 at St. Alphonsus, Brooklyn, NY. St. Leo, Irvington, NJ, where she spent the next six years, “was a big place, and the rules in the convent and school were fairly strict, so I learned what I needed to quickly.”
During the summers, Theresa earned B.S. and M.S. degrees in Education from Seton Hall University, where she “very much enjoyed studying.” Later at the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut, she was awarded another M.S. as a specialist in Reading. “Another highlight for me was the summer of my jubilee trip (1977) and the time afterward when I traveled to Ireland to visit two uncles.”
On her next three missions, Theresa served as principal and superior, from 1968 to 1976, at St. Luke, St. Stephen and St. Catherine of Siena, in Westport and Trumbull, CT. Sometimes these roles were combined with being the 8th grade teacher, so she, at first, spoke of “a big and somewhat overwhelming” mission. “The sister I first followed was much loved, and being new to everything was a struggle for me, yet I did my best.” The thought has a typical SSND ring. With Sister Daniella Marie O’Sullivan at St. Catherine’s, Theresa had already alternated her school duties when her parents became elderly and ill.
Beginning in the late 1970s, Theresa and her twin Sister Eileen Marie, CSJ, took yearly turns caring for their parents at their home in Roslindale, MA. Theresa combined these years with teaching first at St. James, Springfield, NJ, and, during the 80s, at Mission Grammar School in Roxbury, MA. Their father died in 1982 and their mother in 1983. Theresa wrote, “These years were a blessing and gifted time for me, as well as our family, and it was good returning to my roots.” Theresa experienced the closing of both the Mission Grammar and High School convents; she then lived with the Sisters of St. Joseph at Holy Name Convent in West Roxbury, where her sister was stationed. From there she continued to teach at Mission Grammar School; after 1983 and until 2008 she was the librarian.
Theresa moved to Villa Notre Dame in 2015 and became a member of Caroline Community. Her sisters enjoyed her beautiful smile, witty remarks and sense of humor. When she went to Lourdes Health Care Center in 2016, she was well-loved and sometimes called “Mother Prioress” by her companions. Here she attended daily Mass, joined in activities, and had a good buddy, Dominican Sister Elizabeth McDonough, to visit and share with. They watched out for each other, Sister Shawn Kavanagh remembered at the wake service.
After her health declined seriously, Theresa returned from the hospital to Lourdes on comfort care. Her sisters Marie and Eileen Marie, CSJ, were with her the evening before she died and also on Sunday morning, June 24, “as her soul soared to God while they and several community members sang O Mother of Perpetual Help.” At the vigil service on June 27, presided over by Sister Shawn Kavanagh, reminiscences of her life-long service of God as an SSND were shared. From Baltimore, members of Theresa’s devoted “crowd” – Frances Angermaier, Anita Saffran, Marian Sullivan and Regis Krusniewski – seemed to bring her community life full circle. Three nephews, one niece, and a sister-in-law joined Marie and Sister Eileen.
Father Tom Elliott, CSC, Villa Chaplain, presided over the Liturgy of Christian Burial the morning of June 28. Internment followed at St. Mary Cemetery in Bethel, CT.
- Kay O’Connell, SSND
