Sr. Marie Bindseil, Ssj

            Sister Marie Celeste Bindseil, SSJ, age 95, of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Northwestern Pennsylvania, died on August 17, 2017. She was born Lieselotte Bindseil in Frankfurt, Germany, on August 4, 1922, the daughter of the late Edwin and Josephine Weis Bindseil.  She entered the Sisters of St. Joseph from St. John the Baptist Parish in Erie, PA, on September 12, 1942, was given the name Sister Marie Celeste and she professed her final vows on August 15, 1948.  She recently celebrated the 75^th anniversary of her religious life.

               Sister Marie Celeste graduated from Academy High School, Erie, PA, in 1940 and continued her education at Villa Maria College, Erie, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in business in 1964.  She furthered her business education at Indiana University in Bloomington, IN, and at Clinical Pastoral Experience in Hartford, CT, and Parma, OH.  She achieved certification by the National Association of Catholic Chaplains in 1976 and became an emeritus member. Sister Marie Celeste taught at Sacred Heart School in Erie, St. Agatha School in Meadville, PA, and at St. Leo Elementary/High School in Ridgway, PA.  She then ministered for over 38 years at Saint Vincent Health Center, Erie, in various positions including Director of Admissions, Director of Purchasing, Equipment Coordinator, Patient Advocate and Chaplain.  She also served as the Health Center’s Pastoral Care Chaplain for more than ten years.  She worked as an advocate for the Diocese of Erie’s Marriage Tribunal, a receptionist at the Villa Maria Conference Center and the SSJ Neighborhood Network.  She volunteered for the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine and the Regional Cancer Center, both in Erie. She continued ministering to the sick in the SSJ community after moving to the Sisters’ Community Living Center in 1993.

               Sister Marie Celeste was preceded in death by her parents, Edwin and Josephine Bindseil, her stepmother, Albina Bindseil, her sister, Rosemarie Huss (CA), her brother Edwin R. Bindseil (Erie) and her niece, Mimi Bindseil (Erie.) She is survived by her brother, Lawrence J. Bindseil of Holly Springs, NC; 16 nieces and nephews: William (CA), Robert (CO), Eric (MT), John (IL), Barbara (Michael) Miller (Wheatfield, NY), Caroline (Vincent) DiNicola (Cranberry, PA), Richard (Debra) (CO), James (Johanna) (VA), Deborah (Christopher)Boulware (NC), David (Suzanne) (Mt. Lebanon, PA), Gregory (NC), and Teresa (Chris) Ulmer (CO), Thomas (Christie) Huss, Joseph (Sharon) Huss, David Huss, and Melodie (Jeffery) Huss Dean in CA; 23 great- grandnieces and nephews; two great great-grandnephews, Owen and Charles (Miller) Veith (SC), and one great great-grandniece, Kairo (Dean) Carrillo (CA) and numerous Stumpf, Herrmann and Humm family cousins in the US and Bindseil and Weis family cousins in Germany, France, and Canada.  She is also survived by her religious community, the Sisters of St. Joseph.

               Friends may call at the Sisters of St. Joseph Community Living Center, 5031 West Ridge Road, Erie, on Friday, August 25 from 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. when a prayer service will be held.  A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Saturday, August 26 at 10:00 a.m. at the Sisters of St. Joseph Community Living Center.  Interment will be at Calvary Cemetery.

               In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Sisters of St. Joseph Mission and Ministries Foundation, 5031 West Ridge Road, Erie, PA, 16506-1249. The John J. Quinn Funeral Home, West 9^th & Liberty St.  is handling arrangements.