Memorials
Sister Joanne Amelia DeLaura, CSJ
We gather together to celebrate the beautiful life of Sister Joanne De Laura, formerly Sister Miriam Timothy, a Sister of St. Joseph for 65 faithful and fruitful years.
Born to Mary and Felice De Laura, Joanne and her brother Felice, who later became a diocesan priest, grew up in Immaculate Conception Parish, Jamaica. Parish life and the rich tradition of her Irish/Italian heritage shaped her deep love of art and her vibrant appreciation of the glory of God in all creation.
After graduating from The Mary Louis Academy, Joanne entered the community and earned her BS in Education from Brentwood College. Of course, this milestone was achieved while balancing teaching responsibilities at elementary schools in Brooklyn and Queens and doing the more so characteristic of Joanne.
Joanne’s passion for art and especially sculpture and her quest to engage everyone in a deeper and richer view of the glory of creation earned her her Master’s Degree in Art Education from CW Post – and another Master’s Degree from the College of New Rochelle.
As a Board Certified Creative Art Therapist Joanne broadened the lens of her students’ vision of a God whose beauty and grandeur knew no bounds.
Any landscape was a palette to express Joanne’s deep love of God in her gift of art. Nature was Joanne’s sanctuary
Working as an Art Therapist at St. John’s Hospital, Catholic Charities Teen Program, St. Clement Pope School and Our Lady of Providence School,
Joanne’s greatest life lessons brought a self-awareness from her students that they were giving glory to a creative all inclusive God by opening themselves to experiences beyond their imaginations.
One classic story that Joanne liked to recount in her characteristic dry humor was her request to S. John Raymond that the community finance the shipment of a treasured piece of Joanne’s sculpture that was entered into an Art competition in Washington DC. Joanne asked the community to pay the $30 shipping fee – S. John
Raymond, after congratulating Joanne for winning 1st Place, wrote that the actual cost was only $25.08 – and tha
he Sisters and her love for all the Partners in Mission who ministered to her was mutual. The sight of the tender, faithful attention given to Joanne, especially in the last months of her life was a treasured and priceless gift. Joanne’s words of gratitude to the staff, aide and sisters at Sacred Heart, although not audible, were uttered through the dancing spark of her eyes, the joy of her smile and the caress of her hands.
t she could use the balance in any way she saw fit!
Joanne was the weekly host of Art Recreation at Sacred Heart Convent. Her talent was boundless! She also brought the inner artist out in all those she touched. Every session was a living prayer that ended with a round table “storytime” often both humorous and profound.
Joanne was the gracious anchor of the Community Room at Sacred Heart. She adored being around t
As our Constitution is placed in Joanne’s hands may her life, lived so simply, humbly and passionately for 65 years as a Sister of St. Joseph bless us all with peace.
Sister Joanne Amelia DeLaura died on October 10, 2022, in the 65th year of her religious life.