Sr Doreen Cuschieri, Provincial, Sisters of St Dorothy, writes:
On November 3, in our Swiss community in Geneva, Sr Rose Marie Gauci went to meet her Lord, the God who captivated her heart for 60 years of active involvement in her educative mission.
Sr Rose Marie taught Italian and English in Malta, Bologna, Naples, the US and Switzerland. She was also a keen musician. After school hours, she taught piano to many students in Piano Cell No. 1, which eventually became very popular among students who failed to hand in their homework punctually!
Even though she was a strict teacher, she was very friendly and made everyone feel at home. Whenever any young adolescent showed an interest in joining the Sisters of St Dorothy, she was always the first to give us hints about our trousseau and, during our noviciate days, she would write to inquire whether we had settled within the new international environment.
Sr Rose Marie said what she meant, without raising her voice or making much fuss. With her, it was either a yes or a no; there was no beating about the bush, even though her expectations were often very high.
Her strong personality touched us deeply. I remember when I was a postulant, she taught me piano and insisted I knew my examination pieces to perfection. One day, when she noticed I had skimmed through my practice, she approached me and, drawing out a pencil from her voluminous pocket, she started writing on my music book, quoting St Augustine: “A thing worth doing is worth doing well… Love and do what you will.” That message remained imprinted in my mind to this day.
Sr Rose Marie was very patient and would spend long hours helping students come to terms with themselves.
She was like a modern-day counsellor whenever anyone was in trouble or in need of a good word. She was a good listener and her gentleness won the confidence of many students who turned to her for help. Besides being a keen educator, she was also a fervent religious. She would often spend a long time praying in the chapel and would ask us to join her for a few minutes.
She also encouraged us to read pamphlets on the different virtues and study the Gospels prayerfully, especially when we were preparing the subject for our GCE examinations.
Later on, whenever she came over to Malta from Geneva to see her family, she always made it a point to visit our convents and took personal interest in each one of us. She was very involved in her work, especially the teaching of English and, while she was on the island, she would make it a point to inquire about the new grammar and literature books that were being used in school, so that her students in Switzerland would not fall back in their study of English.
In the last years of her life, Sr Rose Marie did not enjoy good health. Eventually, she gave up her music lessons because of severe arthritis which hampered her movements. However, she still kept up her lessons in English language. Here again, even though she was just giving private lessons, she often asked me about the books our students were adopting for their language classes so that she would be up-to-date in her teaching.
Just a month and a half ago, Sr Rose Marie spent two weeks in one of our communities in Malta. She had come over for a family wedding because she wanted to see all her family whom she had not seen for a couple of years.
They were days of great enthusiasm and joy for her because she loved her family deeply and it was her greatest satisfaction to meet her nephews and nieces.
Only a few weeks after her visit, she felt unwell and had to be taken to hospital. After a few days, we were told her situation was critical. Her superior said that when she visited her lately she never saw Sr Rose Marie looking so peaceful and serene.
Today, just a few days after her funeral, we thank God for having favoured our congregation with such a wonderful sister who was a great asset as a sister of St Dorothy and as an educator in our congregation. May she rest in peace.