News and Events

Sister Lucy Jarvis Farewelled at Mass of Christian Burial

On Tuesday 27th July, another much loved Tasmanian Sister of St Joseph, Sister Lucy Jarvis was farewelled at a Mass of Christian Burial at Sacred Heart Church, New Town.    Archbishop Adrian Doyle was the chief celebrant at the Mass.   Concelebrants were Fathers John Williams and Brian Nichols.  

Sister Lucy died at Rosary Gardens Nursing Home on 24th July after a long illness.

The only daughter of Russell and Alexie Jarvis, Lucy was born at Fingal on 11th July, 1924. She had six brothers.

Those gathered for Sister Lucy’s funeral heard that after finishing her secondary schooling, she entered the novitiate at New Town in 1941 and made her religious profession as a Sister of St Joseph on 4th January, 1944.

Lucy’s ministry took her to most parts of Tasmania.   She spent thirty-seven years in teaching and administration in schools.     Over those years, she taught children from early primary right through to grade ten, over a wide range of subjects, and, as with everything she did in life, she did this extremely well.     Towards the end of her teaching career, she trained as a librarian and took up the position of assistant librarian at Shaw College for a number of years.       Ill health then forced her to change direction and she moved into Parish Ministry.  

Lucy was dedicated and committed in every aspect of her life and mission.   An interview with the Advocate Newspaper in 1983 about her ministry of visitation at the aged care facilities and the elderly and sick in their own homes in Devonport speaks volumes about the kind of person Lucy was.    ‘Need’, she said, ‘not creed is the basis of my ministry.   I direct my ministry chiefly to the sick, the aged, the bereaved, the lonely or wherever there is a need of some kind.   I am not a social worker, nor am I a voluntary worker in the accepted meaning of the word.   My motivation is the love of God and love of people.   I have had no specific training for my ministry.  I simply work from the heart and try to respond to people’s need with genuine warmth and empathetic listening and understanding.   I never probe into their affairs.  I don’t preach.  Any talk of religion comes from the building up of trust and a relationship that has grown between us and it doesn’t come immediately.   I have a profound respect for the dignity of the other person and his or her need for privacy at all times.  This is coupled with a sincere affection for the sick and aged people I visit – real skin and bones human beings.   We laugh together, sometimes we weep together and often we pray together, at their request.’

She had a great sense of mission which never left her.    When she was no longer able to be actively engaged in ministry, she continued by her presence, her prayer and her correspondence to carry out a rich ministry.    

Lucy was captured by the spirit of the Second Vatican Council and she never wavered from it.   She was a great reader and was still reading contemporary writings on spirituality, theology and religious life right up until a couple of months ago. She also enjoyed a good novel.     At her profession, Lucy was given the religious name Sister Mary Justin of the Spirit of Wisdom.   As the years wore on, it was clear that she had been aptly named.    She truly became a ‘wisdom woman’ for her community.

Lucy held a number of leadership positions in the Congregation, including Congregational Bursar and General Secretary.   As a member of the committee responsible for writing the first Federation Constitutions, she made a significant contribution to the development of the Federation of the Sisters of St Joseph at its inception following Vatican 2.

Lucy was a very prayerful woman.  She loved the Mass and faithfully prayed the Prayer of the Church daily until a couple of weeks ago when she no longer had the strength to hold the book.    Her rosary was her constant companion.   

Lucy was a very good listener and in her later years, her acute hearing loss was the cause of great frustration to her.    She was a woman for whom routine was part and parcel of her life.   She was a person of extraordinary regularity.   One could set the clock by her!

Lucy was a person of great integrity.  She was a woman of great sensitivity and a perfectionist.   She was very independent and it cost her dearly to make the choice, as she did, to go to Rosary Gardens but she made that choice with grace and great dignity.    She lived out her time in care with that same dignity and made every effort not to be a burden on anyone.    She appreciated everything that was done for her by the Staff.   Lucy’s attitude to her sickness and dying was a source of great admiration for her Sisters.    Her acceptance of her illness and of her impending death was truly inspiring.   

On the Thursday before she died, she announced to all who visited her that she thought she would probably “pop off” today – that she was going home.   However, her timing was not quite God’s and she had to wait another 36 hours before her Lord called her home. 

Lucy was an example of how to live and die with dignity and love.