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Sister Gabriel Miriam Obraz, S.C., admits little has changed in her approach as an educator.
“I’m still the same now as I was in 1974,” said Sister Gabriel, who was appointed principal of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School in Shrub Oak that year.
“I go through all their papers. I sign all their math tests, even quizzes. I check their other work at least once a month. I’ll write on their reports cards as I did that first year, and I always sign the papers and report cards with a green pen.”
There is one big change in store for Sister Gabriel, a fixture at the school as a teacher and principal since it opened in 1966. She served at her last school day with students June 19.
Sister Gabriel is the last of the Sisters of Charity serving at the school, which once had a convent with 10 nuns. Sister Gabriel will clean out her office at the school and the convent before concluding her mission in August.
“It’s just been a very wonderful time,” she told CNY. “We’ve had our ups and downs. We’ve had our tragedies. We’ve had our hard times. But if you’re all together and centered in the Lord, you learn how to live through it and life goes on. Life isn’t always easy, but faith brings you through it.”
Sister Gabriel, a native of Queens who entered the Sisters of Charity of New York 64 years ago, said she never thought of leaving St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.
“This was Mother Seton’s school and there was no reason for me to leave. I couldn’t be at any better place, so why leave?” she said. “It was very much like home. People who came up to this parish were from Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx. You felt at home. The people brought up their children in the faith. They were very supportive.”
The final weeks have been busy for Sister Gabriel with eighth-grade graduation June 10, a Farewell Mass and reception in her honor June 11, recognition of her service by the archdiocese’s Northern Westchester/Putnam school region at the Four Saints Cup Golf Tournament and Dinner June 12 and a student farewell June 15.
This month, Sister Gabriel also stepped into the classroom to teach for a few days in place of absent teachers, and to top it off, she dealt with a water main break outside the school and a power outage inside the building.
“When I met Sister Gabriel and saw the kids outside playing, I knew it was a place for my kids to get a foundation academically and spiritually,’’ said Beth Patane, the mother of three sons attending the school and a volunteer there.
“She’s just a great person. We’ve had a lot of laughs on the playground at recess. She really knows and cares for every child.”
Msgr. Joseph Giandurco emphasized the importance of one’s dedication to faith and dedication to serving God’s people in his homily at the Farewell Mass.
“That’s what I’ve always seen in Sister Gabriel,” said Msgr. Giandurco, pastor of St. Patrick’s parish in Yorktown Heights who has known Sister Gabriel for 30 years.
“It’s hard to put into words what she has meant to that community. She’s an anchor for them, not only for school but also for the parish.”
Father Robert A. Quarato, pastor of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, has his share of experience with the Sisters of Charity as a student at St. Anthony School in the Bronx, a priest at St. Margaret of Cortona parish in the Bronx and now working with Sister Gabriel at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.
“She really is Mother Seton’s own in terms of her spirituality and her work with the children in school,” said Father Quarato, now in his third year at the parish. “Given the fact she’s been here for the entire life of the school, she brought to the school certainly the academic standards that were extraordinary.”
The academic program emphasizes the faith, reading and building confidence by having students read in front of classmates or a congregation at Mass. Students are assigned to read nine books over the summer—three each in the months of June, July and August.
“I really believe if they can be understanding readers, they can do anything,’’ Sister Gabriel said.
She entered the Sisters of Charity on Sept. 8, 1953 at St. Gabriel in East Elmhurst, Queens, where she went to school before attending Cathedral High School in Manhattan. She professed her final vows on March 11, 1961.
Before her arrival at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School, she taught second grade at Immaculate Conception School, Staten Island, 1956-1961, and first grade at Our Lady Star of the Sea, Staten Island, 1961-1966.
“For 64 years, Sister Gabriel Miriam Obraz has been a living example of the mission of charity,” said Sister Jane Iannucelli, S.C., president of the Sisters of Charity of New York. “In her 51 years of service to the children of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School, Sister Gabriel has provided a well-rounded education that included music and arts. She has been a blessing to the parish of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, and a blessing to our congregation.”
Sister Gabriel closed one final school year with her students June 19 and will remain at the school through the summer. Brian Donahue, a fifth-grade teacher at St. Eugene School in Yonkers for the past two years, will take over as principal, effective Sept. 1.
“At this particular point, I have no particular idea (what’s next),” Sister Gabriel said. “My superior said I’m not ready for the retirement house. She said I can go on vacation and we’ll talk after that. I can’t go from speed 24 hours a day to sitting around to watch TV or something.
“Whatever the Lord chooses, I’ll be ready.”
