Sister Francine Kavanah, FSP, entered eternal life peacefully at St. Cabrini Nursing Home on December 24, 2024. She had eight siblings: Frank, Thomas, George, Matthew, Benjamin, Grant, Margaret, and her twin sister, Deanna. She also had two foster sisters, Jeanne and Joan Foley.
At age two, Kavanah and her twin sister were adopted by William and Jeanne Ramsey, who provided them with a loving family life in Hastings. There she attended St. Matthew’s Elementary School and Hastings High School. After graduating in 1957, she entered the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart in Peekskill, and professed her first vows in 1959. In 1986, she was one of 112 founding members of the Franciscan Sisters of Peace.
Sister Kavanah earned a bachelor’s degree in Spanish from Ladycliff College in Highland Falls. Later, she studied at William Paterson College, where she earned a master’s degree in reading. She was also certified as a director of religious education, receiving a certificate of honor for 10 years of service in catechetical leadership within the Archdiocese of New York.
Throughout her ministry, she taught in New York, New Jersey, and Philadelphia at the elementary level and served as an elementary school principal in New York and New Jersey.
In 1987, Sister Kavanah became the director of religious education at St. Stephen and Edward’s Parish in Warwick, a ministry she found rewarding.
In her later years, she served as the activities director for Villa St. Francis in Peekskill, an independent adult residence for senior women. She often said, “They were an example of how to live and grow old gracefully!”
In 2012, she moved to Marian Woods, a collaborative adult care facility for women religious from various communities. While residing there, she continued to serve the adult community in Peekskill until retiring in 2016.
In fall 2020, due to declining health, she became a resident of St. Cabrini Nursing Home in Dobbs Ferry, where she joined other sister residents. There, she befriended several residents and staff members, ministering with kindness and compassion. She created bonds with those she encountered, providing them with a listening heart and a peaceful presence.
She hoped to be remembered as compassionate, kind, caring, and joyful, following St. Francis. Those who knew her would say, “She was indeed!”
A wake service will be held at Marian Woods Chapel on Thursday, January 2, 2025, from 3-5 p.m. Her life will be celebrated at a Mass of Resurrection at 10 a.m. Friday, January 3, at Marian Woods Chapel in Hartsdale.
Interment will follow at Mount Hope Cemetery in Hastings.