Sister Mary Regina Beckley, VHM

Obituary for Sister Mary Regina Beckley, VHM

Sister Mary Regina was born Sara Beckley on April 19, 1934 in St. Elizabeth Hospital in New York City. She was baptized a month later, on May 20, 1934, at St. Anastasia Catholic Church in Teaneck, NJ. Her parents were Earle J. Beckley and Margaret Crawley. Her mother was a teacher, and her father worked his entire career for the Borden dairy company. Her grandfather owned a dairy farm on which Sara, her brother John and cousin Betty often spent summers, leaving her with a life-long love of cows!

As the daughter of a teacher, education was very important in Sara’s life. After high school graduation in Teaneck, Sara attended Seton Hill College for 2 years, then went to Caldwell College for Women (now Caldwell University), receiving a BA in English.

Sara had wanted to become a nun from her earliest years, and entered the Caldwell Dominicans, a teaching community, as a postulant in 1957 after her graduation from Caldwell. She taught 6th grade math, science and English at Our Lady of the Visitation School in Paramus, NJ from 1959-1961. She also spent time at the Dominican Monastery of Our Lady of Grace in Connecticut, where a relative was Prioress. Discerning that this was not yet her vocation, Sara left the Monastery. She became a missionary in Liberia, and between 1968 and 1970 taught 6th through 9th grade English, history and science at a Catholic School there.

Sara still longed to give herself fully to God as a nun. In 1971, at age 37, she contacted the Visitation Monastery in Atlanta and was received, taking the name Sr. Mary Regina.

During Sr. Mary Regina’s first years in the Atlanta Monastery, which was housed in a converted mansion, the Community bought property in nearby Snellville to build a new Monastery. On August 15th,1974, she became the first Sister to make her Solemn Vows in the new Monastery of Maryfield. Sister Regina was very devoted to Mary & Infant Jesus & one of her favorite saints was St. Gertrude. Besides her life of prayer, Sr. Regina made many contributions to the physical operation of the Monastery. She bush hogged the whole property with a tractor, and had several vegetable gardens. She built the Nativity Mangers used in the Chapel and Community Room at Christmas, as well as other woodwork. She also served the community as a Refectorian.

In 1982 Sister’s mother became very ill and needed care. Sister Regina was granted permission by the Archbishop of Atlanta, with the approval of the Vatican, to leave the Monastery for a time to care for her mother in New Jersey. During that time away Sister got New Jersey teaching certificates, and a Master’s in Education in 1987. After her mother died in late 1991, she returned to the Monastery to resume her primary vocation of prayer.

Sister Mary Regina is remembered by family and friends alike for her dry humor – even her college newspaper reported her initial entrance into religious life with the comment that her “humorous seriousness” was missed at the college. She would tell the Monastery Community about her adventures in Liberia, memorably including the time a lion came into her dwelling while she hid in the closet. The lion kept going around the table with the kerosene lamp still burning; she was afraid the house would burn down! Her house boy saved the day.

Sister suffered for many years from pain, and she could not walk very much. She spent much of the last 20 years in a wheelchair, but she could propel herself and thus maintained some independence of movement. As the years wore on, she became more and more dependent on others to help her. She celebrated her 88th birthday in April. Her death on Sunday morning June 12, the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity, was very peaceful, in the presence of all of her Sisters.

May she rest in peace.