Sister Mary Dorothy Ryan, R.G.S. (Religious of the Good Shepherd), also known as Sister Mary of Our Lady of Good Counsel, died Feb. 2, 2009, at the Marie Esther Health Center in Marlborough, Mass. She was 87 years of age and had been a Sister of the Good Shepherd for 64 years. Sister Dorothy served the community in various roles during her 24 years at Mount Florence in Peekskill, N.Y., and was later missioned to the Good Shepherd program in the Wickatunk section of Marlboro, where she served as a social worker at Collier High School, becoming superior and executive director of the school program. In 1977 she founded the Kateri Environmental Center and Day Camp for economically disadvantaged children and served as its director until 1980. As a member of the Wickatunk Good Shepherd community for the next 26 years, Sister Dorothy was also involved in social work for several programs in New York, New Jersey and Baltimore. Surviving are two sisters, Frances Blount and Rita Martin, both of Monroe; a brother, William Ryan of Hilton Head, S.C.; and many nieces and nephews. A Mass of Christian Burial was offered at the Sisters of the Good Shepherd Chapel in Wickatunk, followed by burial at St. James Cemetery in Woodbridge. Funeral arrangements were under the direction of the Freeman Funeral Home, Manalapan. Memorial donations may be made to the Kateri programs sponsored by Collier Youth Services in Wickatunk.
