Archdiocese of Newark obituaries: October 2023
We remember and pray for our dearly departed clergy and men and women religious whose Masses of Christian Burial were held in October.
Father Michael Jerome Feketie
A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Monday, Oct. 23, 2023 at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in Plainfield, N.J. for Father Michael Jerome Feketie.
Father Feketie, 92, died Sunday, Oct. 15, 2023 at Overlook Hospital, Summit, N.J.
Born on Sept. 20, 1931, in Newark, N.J., and raised in Newark’s Vailsburg neighborhood, he was a graduate of Sacred Heart School, Seton Hall Prep, and Seton Hall University. He was ordained to the priesthood on May 25, 1957, after attending Seton Hall’s Immaculate Conception Seminary at Darlington in Mahwah, N.J.
Following his ordination, Father Feketie served as Parochial Vicar at St. Francis Assisi Parish in Ridgefield Park. Shortly thereafter, he would spend a year and a half with the Holy Ghost Fathers at Our Lady of Monserrat in the inland mountain town of Jayuga, Puerto Rico. It was there that he studied the people, and their environment, became fluent in Spanish (the language he would teach at Immaculate Conception Seminary years later), and where the seeds of his legacy of devotion and love for the Hispanic communities of the Archdiocese of Newark were planted. Upon returning to New Jersey, Father Feketie served as Parochial Vicar at St. Augustine Parish, Union City; Parochial Vicar at Holy Spirit/Our Lady Help of Christians Parish, East Orange; Pastor at St. Joseph of the Palisades Parish, West New York; Pastor at St. Mary’s Church, Rahway; and upon his retirement in 2005, in residence at St. Mary’s Church, Plainfield.
His love of family, and the people of the parishes in which he served throughout his 66 years of priesthood, was equally matched by his love of Ireland. Often traveling as Michael Sheridan in honor of his cherished maternal roots, incognito is how he liked to take to the road on his countless trips to the Emerald Isle. He was fond of saying he didn’t know whether he’d be taking a left or right turn upon leaving the airport after his arrival, as he preferred to just allow the spirit to dictate his route and be his guide. To share the sentiment of a dear cousin of his who lives on the Ring of Kerry, “Ar dheis Dé do raibh a anam dílis.” (May his sweet soul be at the right hand of God.)
Father Feketie was pre-deceased by his parents Michael J. and Mary C. (Sheridan) Feketie; his brother Jack (Mary Garneau); and his sisters Mary (Roy Watson) and Nancy (Jerome Tuite). He is survived by his many beloved nieces and nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews, and great-grandnieces and great-grandnephews.
Sister Helen Francis Coakley, OP
A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Friday, Oct. 20, 2023, at St. Aloysius Church in Caldwell, N.J. for Sister Helen Francis Coakley, OP.
Sister Coakley, a Sister of Saint Dominic for 77 years, entered into eternal life peacefully on Oct. 13, 2023 at the age of 95 at Saint Catherine of Siena Healthcare Center in Caldwell, N.J.
Sister Coakley was a prayerful and compassionate woman who credited her parents, John and Helen Coakley for fostering her deep and abiding faith. She entered the Sisters of Saint Dominic on Aug. 30, 1946; received the habit on May 11, 1947; made first profession on May 3, 1948; and final profession on May 3, 1954.
Affectionately known to many as Sister Helen, she committed herself to the field of education serving as a teacher, administrator, and librarian. Her dedication was not limited to imparting academic knowledge alone; she was instrumental in shaping young minds and guiding them toward a path of righteousness and integrity. Sister Coakley earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Studies from Caldwell College (Caldwell University), and served as a teacher in St. Joseph, Union City; Ascension, New Milford; and St. Peter the Apostle, Troy Hills; and as a Principal at St. John the Apostle, Linden. Once sister received her Master’s Degree in Library Science from Villanova University, she then served as a teacher and librarian at Union Catholic High School, Scotch Plains; Caldwell University, Caldwell; St. Philomena, Livingston; Lacordaire Academy, Upper Montclair; Saint Mary High School, Rutherford; and St. Thomas, Bloomfield.
Although retired from active ministry, Sister Coakley’s influence continues to live on in the countless lives she touched throughout her career. She dedicated her life to the service of others embodying the words of Mother Teresa who once said, “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” As we mourn her loss we celebrate a life lived in service to others, a life that embodied the principle of doing “small things with great love.”
Sister was predeceased by her parents, John F. and Helen M. (Feind) Coakley, her sister Elizabeth Butler, and brother-in-law John Butler.
She is survived by her sister, Sister Christine (Patricia) Coakley, OP; her niece, Patricia (Henry) Kurusz; her nephews, Daniel Butler and John Butler; one grandniece; two grandnephews and her loving Sisters of Saint Dominic of Caldwell.
Featured photo: Agencia Eremo/ Cathopic
