Sister Muriel Gallant, MM

Born: July 20, 1924
Entered: October 5, 1946
Died: October 6, 2026

Dear Sisters, family of Sister Muriel and friends,

Quoting one of her favorite scripture texts, Sr. Muriel would say to each of you,
“I never cease to give thanks to my God when I remember you.” (I Thess 1:2)

On Tuesday, October 6, 2026, shortly after five in the afternoon, our beloved Sister Muriel Gallant died at Phelps Memorial Hospital in Sleepy Hollow, NY, ending 102 years of an exceptional life, 80 of them as a Maryknoll Sister.

Muriel Faustina Gallant was born July 20, 1924, in Van Buren, Maine, the third of eight children of Charles Boyd and Lucinda Hagan Gallant. A baby sister died in infancy, and brothers Gerald and Edwin, and sisters Mary and Dorothy have pre-deceased Muriel, while her surviving brother Francis and sister Teresa round out her immediate family.

Muriel was graduated from her parish of St. Joseph’s Elementary School in 1938, and Deering High School in 1942, both in Portland, Maine. It was war time, and wanting to do her part, Muriel trained and worked for two years as a machinist in a factory producing small propeller parts. She then worked for two years in the New England Telephone Company, skillfully connecting soldiers who arrived in port with their families all over the States.

Muriel entered the Maryknoll Sisters from St. Joseph’s Parish in Portland on October 6, 1946. At formal reception on April 6, 1947, she received the religious name, Sister Joseph Edward, though years later, when Sisters were given the opportunity, she returned to her baptismal name and was known as Sister Muriel. She made first Profession of Vows on April 6, 1949, and was assigned to Panama, where on April 6, 1952, she made Profession of Final Vows in the then-Panama Canal Zone. She taught primary and secondary levels at Colegio San Vincente in Panama City through 1967, taking time between 1959 and 1962 to complete a BE from Maryknoll Teachers College at Maryknoll, NY.

From 1968 to 1979, she was assigned to Guatemala. However, her time teaching in Colegio Monte Maria in Guatemala City was twice cut short, when Muriel was called to Maryknoll, NY, to be Supervisor of the Data Processing Office of the Development Department from 1969 to 1972, and 1974 to 1979. When first assuming this position, Muriel took a course in Office Management at Cornell College in NYC.

With each new task confronting her, Muriel followed this pattern of preparing herself, even when doing family ministry between 1979 and 1984, sharing in the care of her parents. In 1981 she was certified in Geriatric Nurse Assistance and Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation, and in 1982 she was certified as Nurse Assistant in Geriatric Pharmacology at Westbrook College near her family home. Between 1983 and 1984, she completed 3 units of Clinical Pastoral Education at Maine Correctional Facility, working there for one year as Chaplain. She returned to Maryknoll, NY, in 1984 and used these skills assisting in our long-term care facility for five years, where she also trained to be a Nurse Assistant Rehab Specialist.

In 1989, Muriel joined Maryknoll Sisters Eastern Region, while living and working as librarian and teacher of library science at St. Gregory the Great Parish School in New York City. Over the years, Muriel had suffered personal health setbacks, and in 1992 she was advised to reduce her activity. She went into semi-retirement at the Maryknoll Sisters house in Monrovia, CA, offering to be a driver for the Sisters’ needs. She was known to be a good driver since the 1970s when she and a sister-companion drove a Volkswagen bug from Guatemala to Maryknoll, NY! While in Monrovia, Muriel was proud of the rose bushes she planted and cared for there, with the help of her brother, Francis.

Sister Muriel returned to Maryknoll, NY, in 2003, joining the newly formed Chi Rho Community where once again she did driving and hair care for the Sisters. When she turned 90, she decided to give up driving while she had “a perfect no-accident record.” We are grateful to Muriel’s niece, Elise Ellison Macdonald, who encouraged and helped Muriel write and publish her autobiography, a delightful book entitled “A Life of Faith.” Muriel’s eventful life was highlighted by her spontaneity. She was known to be ready to go anywhere at the drop of a hat, which is what she did in the end and we greatly miss her.

Besides her two siblings, Francis and his wife Ellin and Teresa Moreland, Muriel is survived by a large extended family of nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews, cousins, and countless friends and former students who maintained close contact with her. We welcome Maryknoll Father Michael Walsh who will preside the liturgy of Christian burial for Sr. Muriel.