Remembering Sister Brigid Brady, O.P.

Former English Professor Sister Brigid Brady, O.P. passed away on New Year’s day. Beloved by many students, faculty, and staff, Sister Brigid spent 43 years in the Caldwell University English Department.

A highly respected specialist in medieval literature and the history of the English language, Sister Brigid set high standards for student achievement, challenging them to use the communications technologies in their search for a wider learning.

Sister had recently completed sixty years as a Caldwell Dominican. During that time she exemplified the Dominican commitment to prayer, study, community and mission.

She grew up in Caldwell and entered the Caldwell Dominicans from St. Aloysius Parish. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Caldwell College and a master’s degree from the University of Scranton, both in English, and received her doctorate in English from Rutgers University. She taught at Sacred Heart School in Lyndhurst, St. Mary’s School in Wharton, and Union Catholic High School in Scotch Plains.

She was not just a scholar; she was truly a Renaissance woman, embracing every opportunity to expand her own knowledge and skills and use them to enhance her service to others in the pursuit of truth or to add a touch of elegance to the plainer aspects of life. For example, the many students at Caldwell University who benefited from her teaching from l971 through 2014 may not have been aware of her gifts of music, art, sewing, and many other creative skills. She hand-made her own harp, mastered the art of macramé in order to create an elegant hanging for the chapel bell, and delighted in creating special patterns for Irish knit sweaters to give as gifts. Those who had the pleasure of knowing Sister Brigid will long remember her as deeply prayerful, quiet but witty, insightful of human nature and a loyal friend.

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on January 6.

A memorial fund at the university has been established in her honor. Gifts to the fund can be made at www.caldwell.edu/giving.