Sister Mary Elaine Hecker, SSMN 1939-2021

Sister Mary Elaine Hecker, a Sister of St. Mary of Namur for 63 years, died May 24, 2021. She was 81 years old.

The daughter of Sheldon and Eunice Hecker, she entered the order in 1958 and made her perpetual vows in 1967. She received a bachelor’s degree in education from D’Youville College and further education at Misericordia College in Pennsylvania.

Sister’s mission was marked by a preference for the most vulnerable. She taught pre-school and early grade children at Annunciation School in Buffalo, St. John the Baptist School in Kenmore, Sacred Heart School in Lowell, Massachusetts, and St. Mary School and DeSales School in Lockport. Sister taught at St. Jude Elementary in Sumter, South Carolina. She also worked at the Day Care Center at Mount St. Mary and the Development Center at Lowell General Hospital. She served in the infirmary at Mount St. Mary and even served as a bus aide. She was willing to do whatever necessary to help the less fortunate in society.

In 2012, the Western New York Home and Services for the Aging awarded her a certificate of merit for her “outstanding service in maintaining quality care for the aged and chronically ill” at Lockport Presbyterian Home.

A funeral Mass was celebrated May 28 at St. Mary Center in Buffalo.