Under ordinary circumstances, the day at this house begins with a loud thud made by the storm door on the front porch. The loud thud has to do with the delivery of two newspapers rolled up and inserted into a plastic bag. If I am lucky, the newspapers will be placed to the side of the door against the railing. But I am not always lucky and so it is that the newspaper delivery man stands a few feet away and pitches the paper up toward the front porch. Sometimes the paper does not reach the front porch and falls on the steps. In that case I have to summon Judy, my wife, to go searching for it.
The question might be asked, what I am doing reading two newspapers, The New York Times and The Star Ledger of New Jersey, when I am blind. The answer is that I read the newspapers out of habit and while I can no longer see, my wife reads selected articles to me. Because we have passed the age of puberty, my wife reads the obituary columns on the ground that old folks die and we might know some of them. Last week there was an obituary for Sister Mary Anthony Tickerhoff. Here is what was said.

Sister Mary Anthony graduated high school and went on to complete one year of college before entering the Monastery of Our Lady of the Rosary in Summit, on July 2, 1943. She made her first vows on Feb. 13, 1945 and final vows on Feb.13, 1948. In the monastery, she held the offices of novice mistress, bursar, councilor, librarian, sacristan, infirmarian, chantress, cook, kitchen supervisor, supervisor of maintenance staff, gardener, and bee keeper.

When Miss Chicka read the obituary for Sister Mary Anthony Tickerhoff and mentioned the dates in 1943, my interest was aroused. A few months earlier in 1943, I had my first taste of combat in the North African theater during World War II. Beyond that, I was interested in all of the jobs she held, including cook and bee keeper. Apparently the Dominican Order of Nuns who inhabit this monastery are self sufficient and seem to provide for themselves.
When I first came to New York, I rented a farm in New Providence, which is the immediate town west of Summit, New Jersey. Summit at that time was much more sophisticated than New Providence and so a good part of our time was spent in the confines of Summit, New Jersey.
As soon as I moved here in 1955, which is now 55 years ago, I became aware of the monastery on a large piece of property on the south end of the business district in Summit. Being of curious mind, I inquired as to what was going on at the monastery. It was explained to me that the Dominican Order of Nuns prayed the Rosary 24 hours per day. That is not to say that all of them prayed the Rosary; it is to say that at least one person was in the sanctuary or at the altar praying the Rosary at all hours of the day. I assume that Sister Tickerhoff took her turns at praying the Rosary and then went on to perform all of the other duties mentioned in her obituary.
I do not understand the significance of the Rosary, but I gather that it is of great importance to the people of the Catholic faith. While I may not understand the prayers of the Rosary, I do understand devotion to duty. Sister Tickerhoff apparently never left the premises of the monastery in Summit until, late in life, she entered a nursing home. She served at the monastery in Summit from 1943 until her death recently in the nursing home. Those with religious feelings will say that Sister Tickerhoff was a servant of God. I am not qualified to judge anyone on that score, but I will say that Sister Tickerhoff spent 67 years praying and serving her God. I applaud that as a full-fledged devotion to duty. And on top of that, she served as a cook and a beekeeper.
The monastery still stands on the corner of Springfield Avenue and Morris Avenue where it has stood for the 55 years that I have been in New Jersey. We frequently drive by that location. In the future I am going to make certain that the windows of the car are clearly rolled up to avoid attracting some of the monastery’s bees. I think that that is the least thing I can do to celebrate the life of Sister Mary Anthony Tickerhoff. Perhaps we should all to say to Sister Mary Anthony, “Well done, Sister Mary Anthony, well done!”
E. E. CARR
August 30, 2010
Essay 492
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Postscript: It should be pointed out that the Monastery where Sister Mary Anthony served is only two blocks away from the park where Abelino Mazariego, the Salvadoran dishwasher, was murdered by an assault by five youngsters. Hers was a life well lived. By the time the law gets finished with the young men who did the beating, their lives may be worthless.
September 9, 2010
DOMINICAN NUNS
Monastery of Our Lady of the Rosary
543 Springfield Avenue
Summit, NJ 07901-4498
Sisters of the Monastery:
In 1997, I had a stroke that spared my limbs but left me with a case of aphasia. The speech therapist at Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation advised me that writing essays might exercise that part of my brain that had been injured by the stroke. Now, after thirteen years and some 500 essays, I found myself writing about the obituary of your Sister Mary Anthony Tickerhoff.
The essay pleased me and I hope that it pleases the residents of the Monastery of Our Lady of the Rosary as well. I send it with admiration for the work that you are doing.
(orig. sgnd.) E. E. Carr
Enclosure (1)
Following is the response which I received from the nuns at the Monastery when they received the essay about Sister Mary Anthony. I am humbled by their response.

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Kevin’s commentary:
And now my life is in some small way connected to a beekeeping, cake-baking nun from New Jersey who was born during WWI and died three years ago. Maybe I’ll run into a relative of hers sometime, and he or she will have no idea that this kid from Texas knows that his or her aunt, or godmother, or whatever made a killer fruit preserve. We live in a funny world; between the internet and airplanes, it seems like .
Nevertheless she seemed like a wonderful woman, and I’m glad that Pop took the time to write to her Monastery and have that exchange.
There are a few more pictures here.