Obituary: Sister Mary Gemma Younger, 86
Sister Mary Gemma Younger, 86, of the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary, died Monday, Jan. 9, 2023, at Taylor Manor in Versailles. She was born Claudia Ann Younger in Louisville on Sept. 21, 1936, to Claude Hamilton Younger and Anna Josephine Ratterman Younger.
She was baptized at St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church and attended Holy Name School in Louisville. She graduated from Alleman Catholic High School in Rock Island, Ill., in 1955 and entered the Visitation Order in 1956. She made final (solemn) vows as a nun at Mount de Sales, Baltimore in 1963. Later, she received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Maryland and graduated from St. Charles University/Seminary in Philadelphia with a Master of Arts in dogmatic theology. She held teaching certificates in history from the states of Connecticut and Kentucky and in theology from the Vatican. She has served the Catholic Church as a faithful nun all her life and as a teacher of religion, history, and art, as well as counselor, writer, lecturer, seamstress and retreat moderator.
After the closing of Sister Mary Gemma’s Visitations community in Maryland, she taught at Holy Family Academy in Baltic, Conn.. Upon returning to her home state, she worked with homeschoolers and as a retreat moderator.
Her goal in life was to be faithful to the Holy Roman Catholic Church and a faithful Visitation nun. She had a deep love for God and country, wishing to always instill this love in the hearts and minds of all she met, in or outside the classroom.
She was preceded in death by her parents.
She is survived by two sisters, Martha H. Roman of Rock Island, Ill., and Therese Dalton of Davenport, Iowa; a number cousins in Louisville, nieces and nephews throughout the United States, and a special cousin, Judy Younger Halstetter, of Louisville.
The Funeral Mass is 1:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, at Taylor Manor, Versailles, with burial to follow in St. Joseph Cemetery in Versailles.
Visitation is 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, at Taylor Manor, Versailles.
In lieu of flowers, those wishing to honor Sister’s memory are asked to make memorial contributions to Taylor Manor.
The Joseph L. Greenwell Funeral Home, New Haven, is in charge of arrangements.
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