Sister Marian Paul Schneider, 84, educator

Sister Marian Paul Schneider, 84, a parochial school teacher and principal who later worked with the elderly, died Tuesday, Jan. 20, of a heart ailment at McAuley Convent in Merion.

At age 12, Joan Schneider competed with seven other girls in the Philadelphia Marbles Tournament. The competition, was sponsored by The Inquirer, and received daily front-page coverage in June 1942. The tourney was held at Reyburn Plaza, across from City Hall.

Miss Schneider won the girls' championship. After receiving a trophy from then-Mayor Bernard Samuel, she and her boy counterpart were sent to Wildwood to compete in the National Marbles Tournament. Presumably, they were eliminated, because the trail of coverage ended in Wildwood.

After graduating from West Catholic Girls' High School in 1948, she worked for six years as a clerk for John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance. During that time, she was a catcher for a semipro women's baseball team.

In 1954, she entered the Sisters of Mercy and professed her vows in 1957.

Sister Patricia Carroll, her colleague, said Sister Marian Paul was "a character." Early on, she was known as a baseball player "who could hit the ball into Bala Cynwyd."

Sister Marian Paul spent 37 years in elementary education as a junior high school teacher and principal.

Within the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, her teaching assignments included St. Helena (Blue Bell), St. Michael the Archangel (Levittown), St. Raymond (Philadelphia), and Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Havertown). She was principal of the Upper School at Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Philadelphia). She also served in the Dioceses of Allentown; Raleigh, N.C.; and Atlanta.

Sister Marian Paul earned a bachelor's degree in elementary education in 1966, and a master's degree in education in 1976, both from Villanova University.

In 1994, Sister Marian Paul accepted a new challenge, joining the staff at Mercy Court - now Grace Court - a senior housing facility in Lansdowne.

She spent 15 years overseeing maintenance of the house and grounds as well as coordinating activities for the residents. She retired from Mercy Court in 2010.

In 2012, she moved to the Convent of Mercy in Merion to do support work. In December 2013, she retired to McAuley Convent.

Surviving are a nephew and nieces.

Funeral services were Monday, Jan. 26. Interment is set for 10 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 31, in the Community Cemetery, Convent of Mercy Chapel, 515 Montgomery Ave., Merion.

Contributions may be made to the Sisters of Mercy Mid-Atlantic Community, 515 Montgomery Ave., Merion Station, Pa. 19066.