Remembrance of the Life of Sister Gabriel Mason SL
Posted on May 15, 2023, by Loretto Community
Loretto Sister Gabriel Mason died May 15, 2023, at Loretto Living Center at Loretto Motherhouse, Nerinx, Ky., with her good friend Loretto Co-member Sue Kenney by her side. Gabe was 95 in the 68th year of her Loretto life.
Sister Gabriel was born Margaret Mary Mason (“Peggy” to her family and friends) June 28, 1927, in St. Louis to Margaret (Coan) and Gerard F. Mason. In Webster Groves, Mo., she attended Holy Redeemer Grade School, Nerinx Hall (Class of 1945) and Webster College (now University), where in 1949 she earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology, with a minor in history. She was received into the Sisters of Loretto at the Foot of the Cross on May 24, 1955. Sister Gabriel earned a master’s in psychology in 1961 from St. Louis University.
For about the first 10 years of her ministry, Sister Gabriel taught psychology and was a counselor at Loretto Heights College (LH) in Denver. She considered her work there as one of the most fulfilling roles of her life. In 2013, she was honored with LHC’s Lumen Christi Outstanding Faculty Award. Sister Gabe worked in the Denver area with several poverty programs during the 1970s, teaching at-risk students and assisting families with emergency needs at Catholic Charities. Among other ministries in the Denver area, she served for two years as a counselor at St. Mary’s Academy, began a new teaching program for Montview School for Girls, taught GED prep courses to adults at the Community College of Denver and taught special needs adults at the Bridge Project (1997-2003). Elsewhere, Gabriel worked in St. Louis, where she served at a retirement center and at Hosea House, serving women and children in crisis (1989-1993). After retirement in 2004, she studied astronomy and physics and became a docent at the Space Odyssey Exhibit at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. She moved in 2013 to Loretto Motherhouse, where she served her Community and pursued her love of the universe and fishing.
Preceding her in death were her parents and six siblings, George Mason, Gerard “Dukie” Mason, Chickie Crockett, Betty Crossman, Heloise Dubbs and Larry Mason. She is survived by cousins, nieces and nephews. Burial was in Our Lady of Sorrows Cemetery on the Loretto Motherhouse grounds. Memorials may be made to the Sisters of Loretto for our mission, c/o Loretto Motherhouse, 515 Nerinx Road, Nerinx, KY 40049 or as an online gift at www.lorettocommunity.org.
Please keep Gabe, her family and all her loved ones in your prayers. May she rest in peace.