Sister Gertrude Cosenke, RSCJ, 102

Sister Gertrude Cosenke, Religious of the Sacred Heart (RSCJ), 102, died on Nov. 6 in Albany.

Sister Gertrude was born on Feb. 23, 1917, in Albany to Stephen Cosenke and Mary Fleming Cosenke. Sister Gertrude was the oldest of five, but one brother died as an infant and her sister, Mary, died at 7.

While in high school, Sister Gertrude had made several retreats to the Kenwood Convent of the Sacred Heart in Albany and had attended the Corpus Christi processions there. She entered the Society of the Sacred Heart on Feb. 7, 1935, pronounced her first vows as a coadjutrix sister in 1937 and made her final profession at Kenwood on Feb. 11, 1944.

Sister Gertrude was a cook in Society houses for over 30 years. She served in Rochester, Providence, and Detroit — 16 years at Grosse Pointe. Mich. — and then five years at Bloomfield Hills, Mich. After many years of service to the Society, Sister Gertrude was allowed to pursue her dream of going to college because of Vatican II. Sister Gertrude attended Maria College, earning an associate degree in 1974, and earned a bachelor’s degree in religious studies and English in 1976 from Barat College in Lake Forest, Ill.

Sister Cosenke volunteered in religious education in Albany and worked for the Diocese from 1977-2002 as the coordinator of religious education and parish ministry at Our Lady Help of Christians Parish. Sister Gertrude also lived at Sursum Corda, a housing project in Washington, D.C., where she served as a social worker in the African-American community for four years. In 2007, Sister Cosenke moved to the Teresian House and enjoyed a number of happy years there. A Mass of Christian Burial was held Nov. 13 in the Teresian House chapel.