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Ciecierski, M. Valentine, Sr.
(July 1, 1918 - Feb. 1, 2008)
Religious (Sister Desolata)

From an early age, Valentine Teresa Ciecierski lived surrounded by teachers in religious robes. St Adalbert's, the school she attended in Elmhurst, New York, was staffed by Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth out of Philadelphia. Her parents, Stephen and Stephanie Ciecierski, who had a stationary store in Elmhurst, sent her to attend Nazareth Academy in Philadelphia. As she became better acquainted with the nuns in the high school, she made the decision to follow in their footsteps in the field of education. She entered the postulancy on June 16, 1935, pronounced her vows in 1938, and was crowned on August 16, 1944.

Sister Desolata, as she was called, taught in parochial schools from Miami to New England. In 1986, when she retired as a teacher, she opened a gift shop at Nazareth Hospital in Philadelphia and later another one at St. Mary's Villa for Children in Ambler, Pennsylvania.

From: Edward Pinkowski (2009)

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