Sister Jacqueline Walsh.
The Catholic nun killed in a hit-and-run crash in Long Island on Monday was a devout woman of God — but also hip to the ways of the younger Catholics she counseled, mourners at her funeral said yesterday.
“What kind of nun you know listens to Jennifer Lopez?” a mourner asked parishioners during a eulogy at St. Edward Confessor Church in Syosset.
Sister Jacqueline Walsh, 59, a pastoral associate at the church, had been lecturing a young parishioner about skipping Mass when the teen noticed she was holding an iPod.
When asked, she confessed to being a J.Lo fan.
That’s how parishioners at St. Edward Confessor remember Walsh: full of quirks that made her a beloved member of the church where she worked for nine years.
“Sister Jackie was a unique, beautiful, fun-loving and happy person,” said Cathy Schlaich, who knew Walsh for 26 years. “She made everybody smile.”
For Deirdre Cooney, 17, the nun was more than a religious educator.
“She was one of the biggest role models in my life,” a tearful Cooney said. “She came to Splish Splash water park with us every summer and rode the big slides. She loved having fun.
“She was full of life and she was everyone’s best friend,” the teen added.
Walsh was struck and killed about 8:30 p.m. on Monday during a stroll near the idyllic Sisters of Mercy estate in Water Mill, where she was attending a weeklong religious retreat.
The alleged hit-and-run driver — whose name was withheld at the request of authorities — is a 28-year-old Guatemalan immigrant who worked as a groundskeeper at Hamptons mansions.
The car was dumped a half-mile from the scene, and the suspect has been on the run since.
Walsh was buried at the Cemetery of the Holy Rood in Westbury.