Sr. Joyce Quinn, Maryknoll
1932-2000
Maryknoll Sister Joyce Quinn, 67, whose apostolate was community based health education ministry in Cambodia with Sr. Regina Pellicore, died August 4 at Maryknoll, N.Y., of cancer, the first Mekong Maryknoller to complete her life's course since Maryknoll came to Thailand in 1980 to serve Indochina, 20 years ago.
Before coming to Cambodia in 1991, Joyce, a nurse, served factory workers in South Korea, then served on the Maryknoll Sisters Central Governing Board, with Luise Ahrens as president. A classmate of Srs. Marilyn Jean Graf and Phyllis O'Toole, she also served on our previous Maryknoll Mekong Mission central coordinating team.
Daytime Khmer-Language Memorial Service
Evening English-Language Memorial Service
Maryknoll, New YorkEULOGY GIVEN BY SISTER LUISE AHRENS
Dear Sisters, Family, & Friends,
"This vocation of ours is a precious, priceless gift, freely given us by God to help make God's kingdom come, and we should definitely be marked by it so that no one should ever take us for anything but missioners." (Mother Mary Joseph Rogers MM, 1943)
Mother Mary Joseph's hope for her sisters was fulfilled abundantly in Sr. Joyce Quinn. She was in essence a missioner in every aspect of her life, no less true in her dying than in her living. Joyce had been ill for just five months and the end came quickly. All through these last days at Sloan-Kettering Hospital, Joyce wanted to "come home" - and she did. Her mission life on this earth ended at 5:15 p.m. on Aug. 4, 2000, in our Maryknoll Residential Care facility. But the mission life of her heart and spirit will continue - of this we are very sure.
Joyce Anne Quinn was born in Troy N.Y. on Dec. 2, 1932, the second child of William F. and Mary Sweeney Quinn. Grade school and high school in Troy were followed by a Bachelor of Science in nursing at the College of St. Rose in Albany, N.Y. She worked a year and then entered Maryknoll in September 1956, making her first vow in 1959 and her final vows in Korea in 1965
Her first assignment was to Bethany, N.Y. and the next year she went to Queen of the World Hospital in Kansas City. Then in 1961 Joyce went to Korea and, as the Koreans say, "spent her spring and summer there," doing medical work at first, and then moving on to ministry among young factory workers.
One of the defining relationships of her life there was her love for a young factory worker, Cecelia Lee, whom she nursed through illness to death from cancer. Joyce loved Korea and entered wholly into the culture. She was delighted when one old granny told her that "if it weren't for that long nose you could be a Korean."
Joyce was elected to the (Maryknoll Sisters) Central Governing Board in October 1984, and then in 1991 she was sent at her own request to Cambodia as part of the founding group of sisters there. In Cambodia, in her "autumn" years, and what she thought would be her winter years as well, she did community-based health and education work, most recently with Sr. Regina Pellicore and a team of dedicated Cambodian colleagues.
She was concerned in January of this year that she felt very tired, but then seemed to shake that off. At the end of February, she felt ill enough to go to Bangkok for a medical check. There they thought she might have gallstones. But surgery revealed gall bladder cancer that had already spread beyond the possibility of surgical intervention.
She came home to Maryknoll and chemotherapy was tried without success; she had hope right up to a few weeks ago that she might be cured or at least have some good time with family and friends. But once the en was in sight Joyce moved quickly "home" - to Maryknoll and then to the side of God Who loves her. As she was dying, among her friends, her sister Judy and niece Suzanne, she gathered us together one last time saying "I am ready now - Let's just do it, together."
Joyce brought a multitude of gifts to mission life; two of them she possessed in extraordinary measure: First was her absolute commitment to mission. Mission urged her forward and the gospel was her constant sustaining force. Just a month before she left Southeast Asia, she led 60 Maryknoll men, women and children in a FESTIVAL OF MISSION 2000, a retreat with Fr. Gene LaVerdiere, time spent sharing mission stories, rejoicing in the new (Maryknoll) assignments to Nepal, and weeping with the suffering of East Timor.
Just four days before she left Cambodia, she prepared and shared a pastoral theological reflexion for MMAF members, affiliates, priests and sisters who make up our mission team. The theme was our call to be clear light and hope for the Cambodians in their suffering, and Joyce's insight was that we can only be persons of hope if we are rooted in God's promises for the people, and are willing to let God break into us, making us transparent witnesses of God's love for them.
When I asked Joyce last week what she wanted me to write in this letter, she responded: "that mission is my center and that I carry the Cambodian people and team in my heart."
Secondly, Joyce had a genius for friendship. Looking around this chapel today, we see clear evidence of this gift - her close and loving family, many childhood and school friends, friends from her entrance group, the Maryknoll Korea sisters, priests and co-workers, close friends from the Center, and we feel the presence of those in Cambodia who mourn her loss today with tears which come from seared and broken hearts.
Joyce was in essence a quiet, simple woman, a warm fire in winter and a touch of shade in the summer; people drew near to her and were welcomed, refreshed and strengthened. You could count on her love. She was clear about the difference between her needs and wants. Simple pleasures, - a few friends, the beach, her cat and dogs, Korean food, pizza, ice cream in abundance, TV when we had it, and a good book - these were enough.
Her passion was reserved for mission, for justice and for the ordinary people with whom she shared life. The sadness evoked in Joyce by Cambodia was overwhelming at times, but she struggled always to bring hope and prayer into that bleak reality. That she succeeded is evoked by this card from a woman on her team in Cambodia - the language is as Metrey wrote it:
"Dear Sr. Joy, My heart and my liver fall down on my toe when Sr. Regina
tell me you have cancer. I tell Lord every time I miss you. Please, don't worry at our work, I will try to do my best at Sr. Regina's order. I hope you will be fine. You are seem to me my real sister, my saving life, my mother, my angle and my God's solace."
Joyce is loved by the people there. The "saving grace of a sense of humor" was abundant in her as well: exercise was great - for others! Community was a taproot of her life, but going out in what she called "flocks and "herds" was not an option.
Cambodians, many of whom lost their whole families to the Khmer Rouge genocide, are amazed and touched that others want to be with them and often ask foreign people how long they will stay in Cambodia. Joyce's response was invariably always "Until death." Faithful and steadfast friend that she is, she kept that promise.
We join our sorrow with that of Joyce's family today. She felt very close to each of them and treasured visits and pictures... and we welcome them and thank them for the gift of their sister and aunt. Many of Joyce's friends from Troy are here and we are glad to welcome them to this Eucharistic Liturgy of Resurrection.
We welcome as well Fr. Marty Lowery MM, our presider this morning; Marty shared ministry with Joyce among the factory workers in Korea and is a close friend as well. We say farewell this morning to Joyce in the way we have known her til now - friend, sister, aunt, co-worker - but in new ways she knows now, she will continue to be a faithful friend to us. We can count on that.
In Our Lady of Maryknoll,
SR. LUISE AHRENS MM
A Recent Report from Cambodia
by Sister Joyce Quinn
On the 10th of August, 1999 around 5p.m. there was very heavy rain and wind storm that only lasted about an hour and a half, but the damage that it did to the very poor village of Kbal Tum Nup in Beoung Tum Pun, in the Mean Chey District of Cambodia will last for more than six months. Maryknoll and Caritas Cambodia have worked in this area now for the last five years. Caritas has been working hard organizing the people and Maryknoll has concentrated on the health education of the people. When we, Maryknoll and Caritas, became aware of the situation in this area, we put our heads together to see how best to respond. The immediate needs were for food and shelter. After surveying the people in need we found that 33 families had no accommodations; 34 houses were damaged by the storm, some more severely than others. We took a small banana boat out to see the situation and saw more than 10 houses completely under water and others half submerged in the water. The people grow a green vegetable in the lake - some grows in water while some grows in a dry area until the rains come and flood the whole area. All of the green vegetables on dry land were ruined so their income was severely reduced. On the first day, in coordination with the small Catholic Chapel in the area, 200 kilograms of rice were distributed, with the help of members of the Caritas association. The next day Maryknoll staff prepared emergency medicines for the people and went out again to see the villagers.
The International Community of the Catholic Church in Cambodia contributed $1000 (US) to Caritas to be used immediately for this emergency until the long term help started. This was to provide large tarps and water canisters for 40 families. The next step will be to help the people re-plant their greens and to reinforce the houses that will not withstand the rains that are yet to come. The water in this area will not recede for at least 3 months.
The example of the people working together for those in need was wonderful! The resilience of the Cambodian people was clearly evident. As we went along in the small boat to see what the people needed, we saw a woman that had gotten into the main village and set up a store with small things that people might need. We saw children with empty large 7-UP bottles used to keep them afloat and having some fun besides; people smiling in spite of the devastation; and the wonderful sight of a hand pump connected to a well in the middle of it so that folks could get clean drinking water. The pump was one of Caritas’ projects. That is a great success story! The very best, however, is people pulling together for each other.
It is not over yet, but they will survive. The Cambodian spirit of surviving continues to amaze us. And we were there . . .
Report courtesy of Maryknoll website