A tree rededication and sign unveiling ceremony was held in honor of Sister Ernestine Quealy, former teacher and principal at St. Catherine’s School in Charlestown. Pictured at the ceremony (from left) Judy Evers, City Councilor Sal LaMattina, master of ceremonies Leo Breen, honoree Sister Ernestine Quealy, Billy Boyle, State Rep. Eugene O’Flaherty, Mary Sexton, Danielle Valle Fitzgerald of the Mayor’s Office, and Paul Rizzo.
Leo Breen had the words to fit the occasion at the rededication and sign unveiling ceremony for a tree planted by the children of St. Catherine’s School as a gift to Sister Ernestine Quealy.
With Sister Ernestine, the beloved former teacher and principal of the school standing nearby, Breen told the gathering in Hayes Square across the street from the school, “A few attributes that describe this woman are kind, caring, and gracious.”
Breen said that Sister Ernestine came to St. Catherine’s right out of the novitiate and spent more than a few years teaching the children of St. Catherine’s Parish for the order of the Sisters of St. Joseph.
“There are a lot of us who were not taught by Sister Ernestine, but she as a part of our lives in more ways than one,” said Breen. “She had a way about here that if you had the opportunity to meet her, it was for sure that you were not going to forget her and her always willing attitude to help.”
Mary Sexton offered heartfelt remarks about the positive impact that Sister Ernestine had on her students and the Charlestown community. State Rep. Eugene O’Flaherty thanked the former teacher and school administrator for all her efforts in educating her students and making Charlestown a better community.
Judy Evers, Bill Boyle, Mary Sulliuvn, and Paul Rizzo presented a plaque to Sister Ernestine in recognition of her honor.
Sister Ernestine thanked the assemblage for their attendance at the ceremony and their support through all her years in the Charlestown community.