Mary Helen Adler, 97, of Chestnut Hill, a longtime Catholic activist who was devoted to promoting social, economic and interracial justice, died April 6 at Chestnut Hill Hospital.
Ms. Adler spent her adult life helping others, and even in retirement helped to organize the Northwest Philadelphia Interfaith Hospitality Network, a nonprofit organization that assists families in overcoming homelessness.
Born in Fort Worth, Texas, she was raised in Philadelphia and graduated from Chestnut Hill College. During World War II she worked at Valley Forge Hospital with wounded veterans and as assistant to the chief medical officer.
After the war, she worked with Dorothy Day, founder of the Catholic Worker movement, in New York City and other CW centers. She was a lifelong member of The Grail, an organization of Catholic women, and attended the Grail Year School in Ohio.
During the 1950s and 1960s, she served as a Jesuit Volunteer, working with the Rev. J. William Michelman, S.J., and Anna McGarry in Philadelphia’s Gesu Parish to organize day camps for children, employment services for the mothers and improved interracial conditions.
She also had worked with Philadelphia Older Adult Legal Services and with Catholic Social Services as a community organizer with the Senior Clubs of the Philadelphia Archdiocese.
Ms. Adler found peace and solitude in nature, especially in Wissahickon Park, Peace Valley Nature Center in Doylestown and Cape May Point.
She is survived by a brother, John Adler, of Tennessee. She was preceded in death by brothers Courtney and Philip.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Tuesday, April 18, at Our Mother of Consolation Church, 9 East Chestnut Hill Ave., in Chestnut Hill. Relatives and friends may call at the church after 9 a.m. – WF
