May 10, 1934 – December 18, 2024
Sister Helen Vincent Oswald died peacefully Wednesday, December 18, 2024, at St. John of God Retirement Home in Los Angeles.
Betty Jean Oswald was born in Bakersfield, California on May 10, 1934. She once wrote, “We lived in the San Joaquin Valley south of Fresno and north of Bakersfield where my father worked as a machinist for an oil company. My two brothers, Frank and Bob, and I had the whole desert to play in and lots of oil wells to climb, as long as Dad didn’t catch us.” Her father, Emil Vincent Oswald, was born in Chicago; her mother, Helen Elizabeth Haines, was born in Licking, Missouri. Betty’s love of the wide open spaces, all of creation, and the desert in particular never left her. Her spirituality was an Earth spirituality, telling her everywhere beauty awaits our contemplation.
Betty Jean attended Lost Hills Elementary School in Lost Hills, California, and graduated from Wasco Union High School in 1952. She then attended Mount Saint Mary’s College (now University), graduating in 1956 with a major in math. To help make ends meet, she helped part-time in a catering business from 1950–56. After graduating from the Mount, Betty Jean entered the community of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet on September 15, 1956, and received the habit on March 19, 1957. She was given the religious name Sister Helen Vincent in honor of her mother and father.
Sister Helen Vincent earned a Master’s Degree in math from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and she was given a lifetime California Teacher’s Credential for Secondary in 1962. Over the years, she taught math at Alemany, Salpointe, Bishop Montgomery, and Carondelet high schools. She also served as an assistant registrar at the Mount, and then as director of the Office of Institutional Research for 11 years. In 1995, She began continuing professional education studies at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange, California, to become a chaplain. For eight years, she served as a chaplain in Tucson and Pasco, Arizona.
Sister Helen Vincent enjoyed crafts, sewing and handiwork for many years, and she found she liked weaving. She built her own full-size loom. She was a great contributor to the Annual CSJ Boutique, sharing beautifully handmade doll clothes, complete with a cradle and blanket. In the process of researching books on weaving patterns, she discovered a book on bobbin lace-making, a craft that was so important in the early history of our sisters in France. Around 1996, she began to learn lace-making. She had to carve her own bobbins, since none could be found to purchase. On the wall of her room was a print saying, “Joseph, quiet, living on the verge of mystery—He was left with dreams and the work of his hands.” This seems to summarize Sister Helen Vincent’s life and attraction to lace-making.
Her friendship with Sister Ann Constance began when they were young sisters in formation. They were in the same reception, and over the years, their friendship grew stronger. When Sister Ann Constance was dying, Helen came to be her companion. Shortly before she died, Ann Constance said to Helen: “Remember this, everything is beautiful in God. Everything.” Helen was often consoled by these words and drew joy and strength from recalling them.
On July 20, 2011, Sister Helen Vincent joined the Holy Family Community at Carondelet Center. She spoke sparingly and was straightforward. She was found to be steady and solid, especially enjoying times alone. As a practical thinker, she wanted to contribute her share to the common good. When she first arrived, she offered to teach a class on lace-making and to begin a tatting group. Sister Helen was one of the few sisters who could tat at that time. In 2017, she celebrated her 60th Jubilee at Carondelet Center.
She had a lovely connection to her niece and nephew who visited when they could get down to Southern California. Helen had a lifelong interest in birds and loved cats in her later years and enjoyed the mechanical cats that made noises and had natural movements. Both at Carondelet Center and later at St. John of God Care Center, she was often a quiet participant in activities and seemed to just like being with others, rather than engaging in conversation.
She had a special relationship with Tammy and Isabel from activities at Carondelet Center; she would sit for hours and just watch them work. Helen transitioned to St. John of God in the first group in 2021. She was flexible and understood the necessity of moving from one room to the next to accommodate her needs or the needs of another.
In her final days, we know that Sister Ann Constance was with her to call her home—the sisters on Camacho accompanied her and she had accompanied Sister Ann Constance. Now may her soul be with all those who knew and loved her in this life, as she becomes one with our gracious God.