A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated Sept. 18 in McAuley Hall Health Care Center, Watchung, for Mercy Sister Mary Stephen Kelly who died Sept. 15. She was 91.

Sister Mary Stephen was born in Philadelphia. She lived in New Jersey and attended St. John School, Collingswood, and Camden Catholic High School, from which she graduated in 1934. She entered the Sisters of Mercy in 1936. She held a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Georgian Court College (now University), Lakewood, and studied language arts in the University of Dayton, Ohio.

Sister Mary Stephen ministered in the field of education, serving in a number of schools in the Trenton, Camden and Metuchen Dioceses. In the Diocese of Trenton, she taught in St. Mary School, Bordentown; Cathedral Grammar School, Trenton; Immaculate Conception School, Trenton; St. Paul School, Burlington; and St. Charles Borromeo School, Cinnaminson.

After teaching for almost 50 years, she provided secretarial and liaison services in the alumni offices of Georgian Court University. Moving to Mount St. Mary in 1984, she was a staff member in the communication office for the Sisters of Mercy.

Among the highlights of her long career in teaching was being named “Teacher of the Year” in 1966 in Alpha. She also cherished her assignment in an inner-city school in Camden where she directed her students as they produced a documentary film, “A Day in the Life.”

In 1995, she was honored at the Annual Sister of Mercy Benefit Dinner/Dance in Atlantic City for her 20 years of outstanding teaching in Our Lady Star of the Sea School there and her influence upon the students in the South Jersey area.

Burial was in Holy Redeemer Cemetery, South Plainfield.

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