Gilda Perri, Associate, was a member of the Sisters of Saint Dominic of Blauvelt, New York since December 1, 1990 when she took her Associate Commitment until her passing on March 26, 2015.
Gilda was born in the Bronx where during her formative years she thought she might be called to religious life. She was especially attracted to the Maryknolls and was filled with missionary zeal. She eventually met and married Frank Perri and raised five children in Pelham. After twenty years of marriage she realized she would need a college degree to assist the children in their own education. She graduated from Hostos Community College as a dental hygienist. Having been employed in this new career, she considered her greatest accomplishment to be the start of the dental clinic at the Terence Cardinal Cooke Health Care Center which served the mentally retarded, developmentally disabled, persons with AIDS, and the elderly.
A resident of Pelham Manor and a longtime member of Our Lady of the Assumption Parish in the Bronx, Gilda served as a Eucharistic minister, was a Rosary Society member, taught CCD, and started an ecumenical prayer group. At times she was also involved at St. Raymond’s and St. Anselm’s. Sr. Francis Jerome introduced Gilda to the Associate Program and recommended her, stating, “Gilda has many gifts and uses them for the good of others.” Thus, Gilda found the Community to be a place where faith was lived and communicated and she wished to be a part of it. She made her first commitment in 1990. In 1996 Gilda joined two Blauvelt Dominican sisters and another associate in a two-week summer volunteer experience in Jamaica, West Indies. The children were taught in various areas including religion, art, music, and dental hygiene. Gilda loved to travel, read, and was a passionate cook! She is survived by her children and six grandchildren.
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