Sr. Mary Salome Bayer, Fmm

Sr. Mary S. Bayer, 92, Franciscan Missionary of Mary of Ein Karim Community died November 29, 2012 at the Saint Antoine Residence, North Smithfield. Born in York, PA, she was the daughter of the late Frank C. and Mary (Schneider) Bayer. On Sept. 18 1939 she entered the Novitiate of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary in Providence, Rhode Island. She pronounced her first vows on March 19, 1942 and her final vows on March 19, 1945. She studied at St. Anne's School of Nursing and graduated as a Registered Nurse in 1945 and from the Boston School of Occupation Therapy in 1950, as a registered occupational therapist. In the following twelve years, from 1950 to 1962 she was supervisor of the Occupational Therapy Department at Franciscan Children's Hospital that was then known as Kennedy Memorial Hospital. Here, children with physical and mental disabilities came for treatment and care. From 1962 to 1964 she was in charge of the Sisters' Infirmary in North Providence, Rhode Island. Following this she was Health Coordinator and Registered Nurse at Divine Providence Shelter in New York City from 1964 to 1967 and at Cardinal Hayes Home in Millbrook from 1967 to 1968, and then Administrator at Cardinal Hayes Home from 1968 to 1974. In 1974 she was obliged to ask for a temporary leave of absence in order to be close to and care for an ill sister and an elderly mother. During this time she was attentive to the needs of her mother and sister alike and worked four days a week in a Drug and Alcohol Treatment and Rehabilitation Program at Holy Spirit Hospital in Camp Hill, Pa. under the auspices of the Sisters of Christian Charity. Following this time of ministry, she attended a seven-month course in Spiritual Direction. In the years following this from 1986 to 2001, she gave service to the community as coordinator of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary communities at Franciscan Children's Hospital in Boston, Cardinal Hayes Home in Millbrook, and Queen of Peace Community in Providence. During the time in Boston she volunteered two days a week at a soup kitchen and day shelter for the homeless organized by the Franciscan Fathers in downtown Boston. From 2001 to 2011, Sister Mary was a resident of the Assisted Living community at 399 Fruit Hill Ave. in North Providence, a time as Sister herself described it as "a time of diminishment and detachment but also a blessed time of prayer and reflection, a time in which all the years were recalled and all God's gifts remembered with a grateful heart." She spent her last years in St. Antoine's Residence. Despite her physical limitations, Mary remained a joyful person whose hearty laughter lifted the spirits of those around her. She composed many poems and reflections the fruit of her deep prayer life and appreciation for God's creation. She is survived by several cousins. Visiting hours will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Monday December 3, 2012, with a Wake Service at 7 p.m. in Holy Family Chapel, 399 Fruit Hill Avenue, North Providence; Funeral Mass at Holy Family Chapel Tuesday, December 4, 2012 at 11 a.m. For online condolences, visit boyleandsonfuneralhome.com