Sister Gaynelle (Eva Gaynelle Mary Perkins) Barrett, 100

Sister Gaynelle (Eva Gaynelle Mary Perkins) Barrett died at 12:45 a.m. on January 14, 2015, at Seton Residence in Evansville, Indiana.

Sister Gaynelle was born on March 29, 1914 in Troutdale, Virginia. She was one of seven children of Daniel and Hannah (Pugh) Perkins.

She attended Gauley Bridge High School in West Virginia, then married William Barrett and they raised four children. After the death of her husband, she entered the Daughters of Charity in Evansville, Indiana in 1973.

In 1974, Sister Gaynelle began her ministry as a parish visitor in Charleston, Mississippi and continued in this service in Robinson, Illinois until 1985. She served as a Patient Visitor at St. Vincent Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama until 1987 when she returned to Evansville for two years to coordinate house maintenance and kitchen responsibilities at Mater Dei Provincialate. She then ministered for a year as a Pastoral Care Associate at Warrick Hospital in Boonville, Indiana. In 1990 Sister Gaynelle began her work as Parish Minister at St. Mary’s Parish in Huntingburg, Indiana until 1996 when she came to Seton Residence to serve in the Ministry of Prayer.

A wake service will be held for Sister Gaynelle in the Seton Residence Chapel on Tuesday, January 20, at 9:30 a.m. followed by the Mass of Christian Burial at 11:00 a.m.

Burial will take place in Mount Carmel, Illinois.

Sister Gaynelle was preceded in death by her husband, William, her sisters Carolyn, Norma and Mildred and her brothers Raymond, Cliff and Harold.  She is survived by her sons Daniel (Conchita), Phillip (Emily) and Dick and her daughter Jean Ann (Mark) Priestly, fourteen grandchildren, twenty-one great grandchildren, two great-great grandchildren, nieces and nephews, her Sisters in Community and many friends.

Donations may be made to the Daughters of Charity, 4330 Olive Street, St. Louis, Mo 63108.