OBITUARIES: Sister Vera, 88, teacher, administrator (04/14/02)

OBITUARIES

Sister Vera, 88, teacher, administrator

FOX CHASE MANOR, Pa. - The Sisters of St. Basil the Great bid a final farewell to one of their own on January 28 as Sister Vera Shabatura was laid to rest at the sister's cemetery.

Born in Amsterdam, N.Y., on November 8, 1913, Sister Vera was the daughter of the late Paul Shabatura and the late Mary Warzona Shabatura. When the family moved to Illinois, Sister Vera, her parents, and her eight siblings became parishioners of St. Nicholas Cathedral in Chicago, Ill., and it was here that young Vera was called by God to religious life. In August 1929, not yet 16 years of age, she entered the Order of St. Basil the Great and began a journey of service in the name of Christ. She took her final vows in 1938 at a liturgical service celebrated by Bishop Constantine Bohachevsky.

Until she retired in 1997, Sister Vera was an active member of the Basilian community, devoting her talents to a ministry that encompassed scholarly and administrative responsibilities. She taught in schools in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Illinois and Michigan.

As Superior of St. Basil's Orphanage in Philadelphia, she attended to the physical and spiritual well-being of children entrusted to the care of the order. In later years, Sister Vera served as a valued member of the Renewal Team for the Sisters of St. Basil and contributed her talents to the prodigious task of organizing and maintaining the order's archives.

A resident of Immaculate Mary Nursing Home, Sister Vera was transferred to Holy Redeemer Hospital on January 24, where she died at the age of 98. Parastas services were held on Sunday, January 27, at the Sister's Holy Trinity Chapel. The funeral liturgy was celebrated on January 28, by the Revs. Orest Mychailuk and Edward Higgins; responses were sung by the sisters' choir.

Sister Vera is survived by brothers Peter and Donald Shabatura, both of Illinois. She was predeceased by brothers Walter, Michael, Robert and Peter, and by two sisters, Anna and Mary.

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