A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated July 24 at 11 a.m. in St. Catherine of Siena Chapel in McAuley Hall Health Care Center, Watchung, for Mercy Sister Edwarda Barry who died July 20. She was 89.

Born in Trenton, Sister Edwarda attended Blessed Sacrament School and Cathedral High School, both in Trenton. After entering the Sisters of Mercy in 1942 she pursued studies in Georgian Court University, Lakewood, and Fordham University, New York, where she received a doctorate in sociology.

As an educator, Sister Edwarda taught in St. John School, Lambertville; St. John School, Collingswood, and St. Mary School, South Amboy. She became the first chair of the sociology department in Georgian Court College. She worked in social concerns in St. Francis Cathedral, Metuchen, was the local leader of the Mercy Sisters in St. James Parish, Red Bank. She was co-founder of the House of Prayer in Mount St. Mary, and co-director of the Center for Christian Concerns in Georgian Court. She was also an assistant to the president of Georgian Court and currently served as the university historian.

Visitation will take place July 24 from 9 to 11 a.m. with a wake service taking place at 9:45. The funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11.

Sister Edwarda is survived by nieces, nephews, cousins, grandnieces and grandnephews.

Burial was in Holy Redeemer Cemetery, South Plainfield.

Memorial contributions may be made to Sisters of Mercy Mid-Atlantic Community, 1645 Highway 22, Watchung, N.J. 07069.