Sr. M. Thomasina Gebhard's Obituary
Sister M. Thomasina Gebhard, age 87, died on September 21, 2018, at SSM Franciscan Courts, Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
Sister M. Thomasina, born on July 5, 1931 in Bamberg, Germany, was baptized as Hildegard Maria. She was the third child born to Heinrich and Marie Gebhard. She was one of eight children: two older brothers, George and Kanisius; two younger brothers, Henry and Anthony; and three younger sisters, Gertraud, Ehrentrudis, and Anna Maria.
Sister Thomasina entered the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother in Abenberg, Germany, on March 22, 1950, and came to the States on September 12, 1952. She professed first vows on August 15, 1953, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Sr. M. Thomasina served as a clinical therapist at several psychiatric centers and as an adjunct professor at a community college in New Jersey. While ministering in New Jersey, she founded Partnership for Social Services, Samaritan Inn and Helping Hand at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish in Franklin, N.J.; and Boarding Home Social Club in Sussex Country, N.J. She also was co-founder of the Beginning Experience Chapter in New Jersey and initiated food banks throughout Sussex Country, N.J.
Sister Thomasina was preceded in death by her parents and her siblings. She is survived by a number of nieces and nephews.
Homecoming will be at 4:00 p.m. at SSM Franciscan Courts on Tuesday, September 25, 2018. A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, September 26, 2018 at SSM Franciscan Courts, Oshkosh, Wisconsin with Rev. Tom Long officiating. Burial will take place at Calvary Catholic Cemetery in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
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