BELMONT — Mercy Sister Mary Hugh Mauldin, 83, died Thursday, April 22, 2021, at Sacred Heart Convent in Belmont. She was a Sister of Mercy for 65 years.
Because of pandemic restrictions, a private funeral Mass will be celebrated April 27, 2021, in the chapel at Sacred Heart Convent, followed by a private interment at Belmont Abbey Cemetery.
Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, she was part of a U.S. Navy family. Her parents were Dr. Hugh Edgar Mauldin, D.D.S., and Louellen Fitzgerald.
She earned baccalaureate and master’s degrees in mathematics from N.C. State University in Raleigh and a master’s degree in theology from St. Bonaventure University in Allegany, N.Y.
She taught in several elementary schools staffed by the Sisters of Mercy and made her mark in her years of teaching at Charlotte Catholic High School.
In addition, for 23 years, she taught math and theology at Limestone College in Gaffney, S.C. She was the first woman religious to hold a faculty position at the college – a 92-mile round trip from Belmont. While at Limestone, she earned its Fullerton Teaching Award four times, had a yearbook dedicated to her and was chosen a commencement speaker. On her retirement from teaching, the president of Limestone stated that Sister Mary Hugh was one of the college’s most respected and admired treasures.
Once she left the official classroom, Sister Mary Hugh ministered as an adult religious educator and gave talks in parishes in the Diocese of Charlotte. She was exceptionally well-known for this work.
Besides teaching, she enjoyed playing tennis, doing crossword puzzles and beautiful cross-stitch, reading and gardening. She was committed to music, especially liturgical music, and was the appointed director of liturgy at Sacred Heart Convent.
Her chosen motto was “Solum Jesum” (“Only Jesus”), which guided her religious life.
Deeply involved in community life, Sister Mary Hugh would often say, “I am not me, I am we” – indicating her attachment to community, family and friends.
She was preceded in death by her parents. Survivors include the Sisters of Mercy, her sister, Mary Feamster of Burlington, N.C.; her brother Hugh of Norfolk, Va.; and her nieces and nephews.
Memorials may be sent to the Sisters of Mercy, 101 Mercy Dr., Belmont, NC 28012.
McLean Funeral Home of Belmont was in charge of the arrangements.
— Catholic News Herald
Former CCHS teacher
BELMONT — Mercy Sister Mary Regina Werntz, 76, died March 11, 2021, at Sacred Heart Convent in Belmont. She had been professed as a Sister of Mercy for 59 years.
A private Memorial Mass will be celebrated on Thursday, March 18, 2021, at the Sacred Heart Chapel in Belmont. Sister Regina has donated her body to science with final interment in Dallas, Pa., among the Sisters of Mercy.
Born on Jan. 9, 1945, she was the daughter of Joseph M. Werntz and Constance Witt Werntz of Shamokin, Pa. After attending St. Joseph’s School in Shamokin and St. Cyril Academy in Danville, Pa.,
Regina entered the Sisters of Mercy of Dallas, Pa., in 1962.
Following completion of her novitiate studies, she graduated from Misericordia College in 1968 with a Bachelor of Science in elementary education with a concentration in music. From 1966 to 1977, Sister Regina taught at Catholic elementary schools in Harrisburg, Wilkes-Barre and Lancaster, Pa.; and Bayside, Bethpage and West Islip, N.Y.
After earning a master’s degree in theological studies from the University of Dayton in 1981, she taught high school religion classes at Mount de Sales in Macon, Ga.; Delone Catholic High School in McSherrystown, Pa.; Bishop Hoban in Wilkes-Barre; and Charlotte Catholic High School in Charlotte.
Sister Regina developed her communication skills as a staff writer for Union Scope at the Mercy Union Administration Center in Potomac, Md.; at TSM Creative Services in Pittsburgh; and as director of communications for the Dallas (Pa.) Regional Community.
She and Mercy Sister Mary Ann Brady were co-founders of RSM Creative Services, a unique service that provided hospitals and other Mercy ministries with materials to train lay staff in the spirit and heritage of the Sisters of Mercy. This led to serving in mission effectiveness offices at St. Edward’s Hospital in Fort Smith, Ark.; St. John’s Regional Health Center in Springfield, Mo.; and the Development Office at Mercy Health Center in Baltimore.
Her most recent years of ministry were spent in service to the Sisters of Mercy as a community life coordinator at Mercy Villa retirement convent in Baltimore and in the South Central Archives in Belmont.
Sister Regina was multi-talented and shared her gifts freely. She wrote a book of the sisters’ history, “Our Beloved Union: A History of the Sisters of Mercy of the Union,” published in 1989. She was steeped in Mercy history and loved to share stories about the order. She also played the piano with feeling and wrote numerous hymns based on scripture. Always interested in learning, she looked forward to attending the annual Scripture Institute each summer at Misericordia University in Dallas. In all things, she was creative, knowledgeable, compassionate, generous and outgoing.
Sister Regina was preceded in death by her parents and her brothers Philip, Norman and Joseph.
She is survived by her sister-in-law, Barbara Werntz Benjock, and nieces Linda Slagle of Hickory and Angela Werntz of Belmont.
Memorials may be sent to Sacred Heart Convent, 500 Sacred Heart Circle, Belmont, N.C. 28012 (care of: Mercy Sister Lee Ann McNally).
— Catholic News Herald