Muriel A. Dery

Sister Muriel A. Dery, C.S.C. (Sr. Mary Gilles, Abbe), 67, of the Sisters of the Holy Cross, and a resident of Londonderry, died May 5, 2003, at St. George Manor in Manchester.

She was born in Manchester May 21, 1935, and was the daughter of Joseph and Simonne (Simard) Dery.

She was a graduate of St. Anthony High School, and in 1968 received a Bachelor of Arts in Music Education from Notre Dame College in Manchester.

She entered the Sisters of Holy Cross in1954 and pronounced her final vows in 1961 in St. Laurent, Montreal, Canada.

An avid lover of music, she taught private lessons and performed parish music ministry in Manchester at St. Therese and St. Augustin parishes, St. Louis de Gonzague parish in Nashua, and assisted with the music ministry for the jubilee celebrations at St. Joseph's Cathedral in Manchester. She also taught music classes, kindergarten to sixth grade students at St. Augustin, St. Anthony and St. Catherine Schools in Manchester. From 1999 to 2002, she taught music in all classes at St. Thomas Aquinas School in Derry.

From 1993 to recently, she was an advisor to the Holy Cross Associates for the US Region of the Sisters of Holy Cross.

She was a member of St. Mark the Evangelist parish in Londonderry.

Family members include a brother, Andre Dery of Manchester; a sister, Ruth Chapdelaine of Nashua; several nieces, nephews, grand nieces and grand nephews, and cousins. She was predeceased by two brothers, Gilles-Paul Dery, and Raymond Dery.

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated Friday May 9, 2003 in St. Anthony Church, 172 Belmont St., Manchester. Burial was in St. Augustin Cemetery, Manchester.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Sisters of Holy Cross Development Fund, 377 Island Pond Rd., Manchester, 03109.