Sister M. Agatha Pokrifka

April 28, 1907 -  September 11, 1978

Sister M. Agatha Pokrifka died on September 11, 1978, at Sacred Heart Hospital in Allentown, Pa. She was 71 and in her 45th year of religious life.

Sister was born in Braddock, Pa., on April 28, 1907, the daughter of a coal miner, Martin Pokrifka, and his wife Elizabeth (Ribar). She was baptized at St. Michael Church on May 5, 1907, and received the name Elizabeth.

The family moved to the Wilkes-Barre area of Pennsylvania, where Elizabeth attended public school in Hudson, Pa., and later Sacred Heart School in Wilkes-Barre. She was confirmed in Sacred Heart Church by Bishop Michael Hoban of Scranton, Pa., on May 12, 1918, taking the name Sophie. After eighth grade she worked in the Sean Fernback silk mill as a weaver for 10 years.

Feeling a call to religious life, Elizabeth entered the School Sisters of St. Francis at Mount Assisi Convent in Pittsburgh, Pa., making first vows in August 1933 and final vows in August 1939.

In 1939 she almost died from a ruptured appendix and the resulting peritonitis.  Although Sister recovered, this close brush with death seems to have undermined her health for the rest of her years.

Sister Agatha served as a domestic sister in convents in the Pittsburgh area, then she was sent to the eastern part of Pennsylvania in 1948.  She remained there serving in various convents and became a member of the Bethlehem Province when it was formed in 1957.

From 1965 to 1968, Sister taught kindergarten, in addition to her domestic duties. In 1973, Sister traveled to Rome anticipating her Jubilee trip.  She visited the Generalate, St. Peter’s Basilica, Assisi and places of interest in Rome.

A heart condition detected in the early years of Sister’s life gradually grew worse, but until November 1976, she remained active, cooking for the sisters in Westfield, Mass., and then in the New Jersey area.

In November 1976, Sister came to the Motherhouse after a period of hospitalization.  She remained there, helping in the kitchen as much as she could until her death.

Sister’s quiet, retiring attitude and her conscientiousness will be remembered, as will as her neatness, concern for cleanliness, and many years of dedicated domestic service to community.

Sister Agatha is buried in St. Francis Cemetery at Monocacy Manor in Bethlehem, Pa.