Sister Adamarie (Cecilia) Kost, RSM, passed peacefully into God’s arms on March 8 at Mercy Convent in Nashville.
Sister Adamarie was the daughter of Charles Franklin and Ada Vester Kost. She was born in Nashville on Sept. 27, 1937. She graduated from Cathedral High School and entered the Sisters of Mercy in 1956. She received her bachelor’s degree from Our Lady of Cincinnati College and her master’s degree in education from Memphis State University.
Sister Adamarie is survived by her Sisters of Mercy, numerous and beloved nieces and nephews, and her devoted friend, Kay Brogle.
Sister Adamarie was preceded in death by her parents and her eight siblings: Francis (Joe) Biggs, Catherine (Buddy) Gentry, Doris (Masne Allen) Bennett, Florence (Bill) Midget, Lois (Marvin) Fox, Jody Kost, Mary Helen (Donald) Meadows, Vivian (Joe) Tucker; by her nephew, John Vincent Gentry; a niece, Dawn Tucker; and great nephews, Kane Gentry and Steven Yates.
Sister Adamarie was a Sister of Mercy for 68 years. She served in numerous ministries, including as an elementary school teacher in Nashville and Memphis, and in hospital chaplaincy and social work in Cincinnati.
In 1982, she returned to Tennessee and became administrator of Catholic Charities of Chattanooga. In 1990, she was appointed coordinator/administrator of the Sisters of Mercy at St. Bernard Convent and later at Mercy Convent in Nashville.
In 1995, Sister Adamarie became the founding executive director of the Lester Tune Home Place in Chattanooga, a housing ministry for people living with HIV/AIDS. In Sister’s own words, “The work at the Home Place was the ministry where I most felt I was following the call of Catherine McAuley (foundress of the Sisters of Mercy), caring for the most vulnerable and abandoned by society in that time period.”
Among Sister Adamarie’s activities beyond ministry was being named Queen of the Kudzu Ball in Chattanooga in 1987. Sister Adamarie also entertained many gatherings across the state impersonating Minnie Pearl. After hearing Sister Adamarie’s taped performance, Minnie Pearl said, “Sister was the best impersonator I ever heard.”
When Sister Adamarie retired, she moved to Mercy Convent in Nashville. During her years at Mercy, she participated in many activities and ministered to the Sisters in the infirmary. She enjoyed calling bingo for them. She prayed daily for the spiritual and temporal needs of the employees who loved and cared for her.
A funeral Mass was celebrated for Sister Adamarie on March 14 at Mercy Convent in Nashville. Father Jim Vick, pastor of St. Bridget Parish in Dayton, was the Mass celebrant. The burial service took place at Calvary Cemetery in Nashville.
