Sr. Valerie Heinonen (Sr. Rosaire)
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1941 - 202101/19/1941 - 09/18/2021
It is with great sadness we announce the death of Sr. Valerie Heinonen, who was called home to God on Saturday, September 18th.
Sr. Valerie was born in Bayport, NY to Gunnar (Abraham) and Rose and entered the congregation of the Ursuline Sisters of Tildonk at the age of 17.
After professing her final vows Sr. Valerie embarked on a teaching career that spanned 13 years. She taught at Nativity BVM (Ozone Park), Our Lady of Victory (West Haven), Holy Family High School (Huntington), St. Gregory the Great (Bellerose) and St. Gregory (Brooklyn).
In 1976 Sr. Valerie began her career in shareholder activism and began her ministry at the Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility where, for 20 years, she served as the Program Director for Militarism, Global Finance, and Community Economic Development. Sr. Valerie described her work as "planting seeds" and opened countless dialogues with companies around the globe to recognize their responsibility and impact and find resolutions to affordable housing funding, the limiting of weapon sales by defense contractors, environmental impact, and human rights issues. One such seed resulted in crafting the gun control policy of Dick's Sporting Goods wherein the company stopped selling assault rifles, raised the minimum age for purchasers, and ceased the sale of high-capacity magazines.
Recognized by the New York Times, Washington Post, PBS, and National Catholic Reporter, Sr. Valerie was also an active and familiar participant in shareholder meetings across the country representing several congregational investment programs including the Mercy Investment Program, Sisters of Mercy - Detroit Regional Community, the Dominican Sisters of Hope, and, of course, the Ursuline Sisters of Tildonk, where she was invaluable in the community's financial planning.
Sr. Valerie also served as Councilor on the Ursuline Sisters of Tildonk Leadership Team and volunteered at Nazareth House, a small family shelter in lower Manhattan. She was recognized in 1997 as one of 25 "Women of Justice" by Network, a national social justice lobby, and received the 2007 St. Angela Merici Ministry Award.
In accordance with her wishes, Sr. Valerie will be cremated and a mass in celebration of her life will be planned for a time convenient for her family.
