Sister Margaret Smyth Laid To Rest: 'She Was An Angel On Earth'

RIVERHEAD, NY — Sister Margaret Smyth, a beloved nun — hailed as a warrior who spent her life dedicated to the many she served selflessly — was laid to rest Thursday at St. John the Evangelist R.C. Church in Riverhead.

As mourners filed up to her coffin, placed below a depiction of Jesus, light poured through the stained glass windows and Sister Margaret seemed, truly, at peace, a yellow rose and her vows to the Church placed in her coffin; she held a rosary clasped in her hands.

The church was adorned with Christmas trees and poinsettias, funeral bouquets in the shape of crosses, and bouquets of delicate yellow roses. The yellow roses symbolized her order, the Sisters of St. Dominic of Amityville, where she was a member of the "Golden Rose" set.

Young and old filled the church Thursday — another service was held for the many Spanish-speaking people she'd helped Wednesday night — and those in attendance ranged from fellow nuns, priests, those who've served as elected officials in Riverhead, advocates for social justice, and many, many who told stories of how Sister Margaret changed their lives.

Her family — her sister Ann Marie, her sister-in-law Mairead, her seven nieces and nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews and cousins, all gathered, sharing stories of the woman they called "Aunt Margie."

Sister Margaret's niece Kristina O’Leary of Garden City shared memories of her aunt with Patch.

"She was just at our house for Thanksgiving," she said, her voice wistful. "Aunt Margie was always the fun aunt."

O'Leary's son remembered how Sister Margaret would tease him, pretending she had no idea who he was.

Sister Margaret's life was laced with humor, O'Leary said. "She always had a smile and a joke."

One time when they were out, it was raining, and rather than run for shelter, O'Leary said her aunt grabbed her hand. "'Let's start skipping,'" she said. "And then we were skipping and singing, 'Singing in the Rain.' Now I do that with my girls."

O'Leary remembers fondly the times her aunt took her to the schools where she taught. "She knew everyone's name — everyone just loved her. People loved her because she took the time to really listen."

O'Leary remembered sleepovers at the convent. "Whenever I was coming, she would always get onion dip and potato chips. I don't know who loved it more."

Sister Margaret showed her young nieces and nephews her life, committed to serving. "She wanted to show us that there's so much you can do out there — so many people that need help."

Her aunt loved helping people. "It was her passion. She never wanted to stop," she said.

Recalling the funny moments, O'Leary recalled a time Sister Margaret gave the family's turkey away, by mistake, to a family in need. They finally found a frozen turkey but they ate all the sides first on that Thanksgiving.

"She would give anyone the coat off her back," O'Leary said. "She was very thoughtful, very kind, very funny. Always very present." It was her aunt who sat with O'Leary when she wrote her father's obituary, she said.

"She loved her family," she said. "She was amazing to everyone on the outside, but she was also a regular sister, an aunt, a godmother — not everyone sees that."

Thinking back on some of the words of insight her aunt, O'Leary said Sister Margaret had reflected, "Death only means walking through a door to another room and a new life."

Sister Margaret's mother had wanted to be a nun but her mother forbade her. She was thrilled with her daughter was called to the vocation.

But before she was a nun, when she was a student at St. Agnes Academic High School in College Point, Sister Margaret had "tons of friends and did well in school," O'Leary said.

Although there was incredible grief at the sudden loss, there was also a sense of peace, she said.

"It gives me comfort that she wasn't sick in the hospital — and that she was doing what she loved up until the day she passed, in her bed. I think that's a blessing," O'Leary said.

Reflecting on her impact on the thousands she served, O'Leary said, "People say she was an angel on earth. She's touched so many lives. What she's done is amazing."

At the funeral, Sister Peggy McVetty, the head of the Dominican Sisters of Amityville, spoke. She said it was a gift to be in the parish affectionately known as "the Church of St. Margaret," where the well-loved nun had ministered to so many. "This was a cherished, sacred space for her," she said.

While so many are shocked and grieving, mourners shared an "immediate connection, that Sister Margaret forged among us," Sister Peggy said. "For Sister Margaret, we were not a group of random individuals. She connected us as humans."

The words of religious profession were placed in Sister Margaret's hands before her coffin was closed. "We entrust her to our loving God," Sister Peggy said.

Sister Peggy remembered Sister Margaret's ability to tell a story, to captivate and disarm with her Irish humor and hospitality.

Born to immigrant parents, Sister Margaret knew what it was like to struggle; she also respected cultural differences, she said. "Her parents sacrificed so she could graduate high school," she said.

Even when she was just 15, Sister Margaret was called to counsel. When the Hungarian Revolution took place in 1956, she taught English to Hungarian refugees. "She knew what it was like, to be in a different place," she said.

She joined the Sisters of St. Dominic in 1957 and professed her final vows by 1962. She taught elementary school in Woodhaven and in St. Albans, and then, taught Spanish at a Brooklyn high school. She then served as an elementary school principal at St. Catherine of Siena in St. Albans and later at Our Lady of Solace School in Brooklyn.

In 1985, she became the pastoral assistant at St. John Cantius Parish in East New York.

Throughout her 65 years of service — including the founding of the North Fork Spanish Apostolate, where she was the face of hope for so many in need on the East End, providing legal advocacy, education, help with food and necessities, and showing those she served, through tough love, how to learn to help themselves — Sister Margaret was guided by her steadfast faith.

"Sister Margaret's co-author in her life story, maybe even her editor, was God," Sister Peggy said.

Quoting St. Catherine of Siena, Sister Peggy said: "Proclaim truth and do not be silent through fear." The words echoed in Sister Margaret's life as she fought fiercely for justice, she said. "Did you ever know Sister Margaret's voice to be silent? To be silenced?"

To the crowd, draped in sorrow, she added that Sister Margaret would always be felt among those who loved her: "Her life has changed. It's not ended."

Sister Margaret, like a reading from the Letter of St. John, believed that faith was nothing if it was not backed up with good works, with helping others with their dire needs, said Fr. Larry Duncklee.

Sister Margaret had three families, he said — her natural family, her family of nuns, and the "communidad," or community that embraced her. The words "Signs of joy and hope" were written on her prayer card, because you need both to be able to love, he said. "Joy and hope. It's not just words," he said.

Sister Margaret, he said, remembered people's names, the names of their children. She listened to their stories and gave them validation. His hope is that Sister Margaret's work will continue, he said.

Candles were passed out among the mourners; they were told to light them, and keep the "flame of faith" burning.

Her nephew Chris remembered when morning show personality Al Roker commented, at an event, "When Sister Margaret calls, I answer."

He added: "I know she's been called a lot of wonderful things, but to me and my family, she's always just been Aunt Margie."

Aunt Margie, he said, took him to his first Broadway show, to see his favorite movie "Star Wars." She's watch them while his parents went away.

Wiping away tears, he also remembered dancing in the rain with his aunt, singing. He is forever grateful that he injured his wrist and was home recently, to go with his mother to visit Sister Margaret at her new apartment in Riverhead.

While the whole family wondered why she'd moved so far away, to Suffolk County, he said, as he looked over the tearful crowd, "She loved what she did here. And she's left such an important legacy. She was passionate and dedicated until the absolute very end."