Sr. Marian Virginia Hamwey, Dc

MENANDS - Sister Marian Hamwey, D.C., 85, died on November 4, 2023 at Cooper University Hospital, Camden, NJ after an unexpected illness while on retreat.

She was born in Oneonta, NY on February 27, 1938, one of two children of Virginia and Charles Hamwey. She attended St. Mary’s grade school and Oneonta High School and after one year at Elmira College, she transferred to St. Joseph College, Emmitsburg, MD which was administered by the Daughters of Charity, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in French.  After graduation, she entered the Community of the Daughters of Charity in 1960 and at the completion of her formation, taught French at Utica Catholic Academy, Utica NY and Elizabeth Seton High School, Bladensburg, MD while completing a Master’s degree in French at St. John’s University, NY.

While participating in a grant for French teachers in Paris, she was inspired to become a missionary.  Within a year’s time, in 1971, she was on her way to her first mission in Zaire, the former Belgian Congo where she taught seminarians while learning Lingala, the language of the people.  Continuing her language studies, she was sent to a settlement on the Congo River, helping in the Mother and Child Clinic and organizing vaccinations during an outbreak of cholera.

She returned to the States on sabbatical and earned a Master’s in Public Health from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, returning to Iboko, Zaire in 1984, where she established health care clinics and became the administrator in Lukolela on the Congo River.  She was named the Director of Medical Affairs for the Archdiocese of Mbandaka in 1996.

After 31 years as a missionary in what became the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sister Marian returned to the United States in 2003 where she became director of Family Advancement in Macon, GA before then relocating to upstate New York where she became the coordinator at the Roarke Center, Troy NY.  Before her death, she was volunteering at two immigration centers in Albany NY and tutoring an Afghan woman in English.

In recognition of her vast experience and leadership qualities, Sister Marian served on many boards throughout her years as a Daughter of Charity. She was also a longtime member of the choir at St. Henry’s Parish, Averill Park.  A memorial Mass for Marian will be scheduled at St. Henry’s at a later date.

Sister Marian was predeceased by her parents and most recently, by her brother Charles and his wife Joanne of Billings, MT. She is survived by her aunt Margaret Hamwey of Oneonta; her niece Corrina Hamwey and grandniece Niccole Hamwey of Billings, MT; her cousins, many friends and her Sisters in Community.

A wake service will be held on Wednesday, November 15, 2023 from 4 to 7 pm in DePaul Chapel at 96 Menand Rd., Menands, NY. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Thursday, November 16 at 10:30 am in DePaul Chapel. Interment will follow at St. Agnes Cemetery, in Menands.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Sister Marian’s name to Daughters of Charity Ministries, 4330 Olive Street, St. Louis, MO 63108.