Sister Sylvia Bartheld, SNJM

(Sister M. Catherine Elizabeth)

November 25, 1931 – November 13, 2019

Sister Sylvia Bartheld, SNJM departed this life on November 13, 2019 at Saratoga Retirement Community, Saratoga, California.

Sister Sylvia celebrated 87 years of life and 68 years of her religious profession.

Her Mass of Resurrection was celebrated on Tuesday, November 26, 2019, at 10:30 a.m. at Holy Spirit Chapel, Campbell, California.

Burial took place at 1:30 p.m. at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Hayward, California.

Sister Sylvia Bartheld, SNJM

(Sister M. Catherine Elizabeth)

November 25, 1931 – November 13, 2019

In the very early morning of November 13, 2019, Sister Sylvia Bartheld, SNJM (Sister M. Catherine Elizabeth) entered quietly into heaven. She was 87 and celebrated 68 years of profession as a Sister of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary.

Sister Sylvia was both an educator and an educator of educators. For the first 17 years of her ministry as a Sister of the Holy Names she was in elementary education at Saint Mary (Los Angeles), Saint Monica (San Francisco), Saint Anthony (San Gabriel), Saint Anastasia (Los Angeles), Saint Anselm (San Anselmo), Saint Augustine (Oakland), Saint Francis de Sales (Oakland) and All Souls (Alhambra). She then became principal at Saint Cecilia’s (San Francisco). She served the Archdiocese of San Francisco as elementary school consultant and Assistant Superintendent of Schools for a total of 16 years. She was an education consultant for the Department of Education for the Diocese of San Jose. At Holy Names University (Oakland) she did institutional research where her gifts of gathering and analyzing data were well utilized.

Sister Sylvia loved San Francisco, the city of her birth. She loved the arts, especially the ballet and opera where she often ushered so she would be sure to be able to attend her favorite performances. She had a keen eye for photography. She was the consummate genealogical researcher of her family heritage. And she loved Brentwood peaches which she shared with so many each summer.

She is survived by her nephew, Roy Rios, his wife, Sharon and other relatives, and is remembered by the Sisters and Affiliates of the Sisters of the Holy Names.