A Mass of Christian Burial for Sister Geraldine Coleman, D.C., was celebrated April 20, 2013, at the Basilica of the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg, Md. Burial followed at Sacred Heart Cemetery in Emmitsburg.
Sister Geraldine died April 16, 2013, at 85 years of age at Villa St. Michael, the Daughters of Charity senior care residence in Emmitsburg. In June of 2012, she celebrated 61 years vocation as a Daughter of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul.
Born in Wildwood, N.J., on Sept. 27, 1927, Sister Geraldine was one of three children, all daughters, born to John and Anna Marie (Delaney) Coleman. She entered the Community of the Daughters of Charity in January of 1951 at St. Joseph House in Emmitsburg.
Sister Geraldine graduated from St. John’s University in Queens, N.Y., with a Bachelor of Science in pharmacy in 1960; she earned her master’s in health administration from Yale University, New Haven, Conn., in 1972. From 1952 to 2007, Sister Geraldine served in hospitals affiliated with the Daughters of Charity: St. Vincent’s Hospital (Medical Center) in Bridgeport, Conn. (1960 – 1965 and 1970 – 1972); Providence Hospital in Washington, D.C. (1965 – 1969); Sisters Hospital in Buffalo, N.Y. (1972 – 1976, 1982 – 1987, and 2003 – 2007); Lourdes Hospital in Binghamton, N.Y. (1976 – 1979); Seton Health-St. Mary’s Hospital in Troy, N.Y. (1979 – 1982); and St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester, N.Y. (1993 – 2000). Sister Geraldine also served at St. John’s Parish in Brooklyn, N.Y., and Good Samaritan Hospital in Pottsville, Penn., before being missioned to Emmitsburg in 2000.
Sister Geraldine is survived by one sister, Marie Urbach of West Chester, Penn.; many nieces and nephews; and her Sisters in Community.