Sister Mary Isidore Gilewitch, 99, teacher
Sister Mary Isidore Gilewitch, 99, a nun who was as capable with a needle as with a hammer and who taught at many local schools, died Thursday, Jan. 31, in Fox Chase of cardiovascular problems.
She entered the Sisters of the Order of St. Basil the Great in 1930, teaching in Catholic schools in New York, Chicago, and Cleveland, and in Philadelphia, Easton, Chester, Fox Chase, and many other Pennsylvania municipalities. Her posts included St. Nicholas School in Philadelphia and Holy Ghost in Chester, according to the Fletcher-Nasevich Funeral Home.
Sister Mary Isidore was a master of Ukrainian embroidery and used her skill to adorn priests' vestments as well as pillows and scarves.
"She was a handy woman with hammer and screwdriver. She could be found redoing pieces of furniture, knocking down walls, and any other adjustment that was needed," according to a history of her life provided by her order.
Since 1982, she had lived at the order's motherhouse in Fox Chase, where she sewed vestments and took care of the sacristy until 2010.
She is survived by a sister, Helene Gilewitch Davidson. Two sisters and a brother preceded her in death.
Relatives and friends are invited to a viewing at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 4, at the Fletcher-Nasevich Funeral Home, 9529 Bustleton Ave., Philadelphia. A requiem liturgy will be said at 10:15 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 5, at Holy Trinity Chapel, 710 Fox Chase Rd., Fox Chase Manor, Pa. 19046.
Contact Miriam Hill at 215-854-5520, hillmb@phillynews.com, or follow on Twitter @miriamhill.
