SISTER THOMAS JOSEPH GAINES, age 73, died at Caritas Christi, the motherhouse of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill in Greensburg, on May 12, 2014. Born in Pittsburgh, Sister Thomas Joseph entered the congregation of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill on December 28, 1959, from St. Irenaeus parish in Oakmont, PA. Preceded in death by her parents, Joseph and Juliette (Massey) Gaines and a brother, Thomas Gaines, she is survived by a sister, Mrs. Joanne Abshier, nieces, and grand nieces and nephews. She earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Seton Hill University and a master’s degree in theology, pastoral ministry from Duquesne University, and was a certified NACC chaplain. Sister Thomas Joseph taught middle-school students in the dioceses of Altoona-Johnstown, Greensburg, Pittsburgh and the Archdiocese of Washington. From 1972-1981, she served as the pastoral minister at St. James Parish in Wilkinsburg. During that period, she became a skilled emergency medical technician (EMT), and received the Harold B. Gardner Citizen’s Award for her ambulance work. In 1981, Sister Thomas Joseph, known to many as Sister TJ, was named “Citizen of the Year” by Wilkinsburg Mayor John Wilkins for her social and spiritual leadership. She served from 1981-2013 at John J. Kane Hospital, eventually being named chaplain at the Kane Regional Center, McKeesport. In that position, she was twice named “Employee of the Year”. She also received the Thomas W. Jackson Innovation in Chaplaincy Award which recognizes outstanding leaders who have demonstrated excellence, creativity and effectiveness in meeting religious and spiritual needs. Sister Thomas Joseph provided mass care, distributing food in Florida after Hurricane Charley of 2004. A year later, she traveled to New Orleans with the Spiritual Response Team of the American Red Cross to assist those suffering in the wake of hurricane Katrina. Her last disaster response mission was in 2011, when she spent three weeks ministering to tornado victims in Mississippi. Of her life as a Sister of Charity, Sister Thomas Joseph once said, “I always wanted to be a sister. I have been blessed with years filled with many challenges and many opportunities for growth–personal, spiritual and professional.”
