After nine decades of sisterly love, see why the Devaney sisterhood is still going strong.

The three 90-plus-year-old Devaney sisters celebrated National Sisters Day on Sunday at The Bristal in North Woodmere, where they live. Mary Devaney, 95, Kathleen Devaney-Dolan, 93, and Teresa Devaney, 90, grew up together in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn.

Kathleen, who raised her family in Valley Stream, is a mother of five children and grandmother to ten grandchildren. Teresa Devaney and Mary Devaney never married and lived together for years before deciding to join their sister at The Bristal.

Mary said that their mother was adamant that the three women stay close throughout their lives.

Much of their family remained in Sligo, Ireland, where their parents immigrated from, so their mother did not have the opportunity to live close to her own sister.

“Our mother was very caring about us staying together and close,” Mary said. “She never knew her older sister because she came in the 1980s, so she said, ‘I want you girls to be close.’ And it’s worked out.”

“Being a sister is wonderful,” Kathleen said. “Having a sister is sometimes not so wonderful. But we don’t hold grudges or anything like that.”

Mary worked as a communications supervisor at Bell Atlantic where she supervised a group that consisted entirely of men. She later earned a position on the company’s Board of Directors. Teresa was a financial analyst for Western Electric, which she said treated both her and her parents extremely well and helped pay for her parent’s medical bills. Kathleen was a stay-at-home mother. Her husband, James Dolan, was a Purple Heart World War II veteran who served at D-Day.

In Prospect Heights, the Devaneys were raised in a three-story, six-family home, where they were surrounded by family with cousins on two of the three floors. Family remains an integral part of their lives, as Kathleens children and grandchildren often frequent The Bristal for surprise birthday parties for all three women.

Teresa said it was nice for the three of them to be living together once again.

“We’re very happy,” she said. “...Some people are so unhappy lately. But we do a lot of laughing and joking.”

“When I was leaving Rockville Centre…I didn’t think I’d be happier in any other place,” added Mary. “This comes first.”

Throughout their lives, the three sisters traveled back to Ireland 22 times, discovering new family members each time they returned. Teresa said one of her favorite memories from their trips was visiting a house in Sligo that their father built for animals as a young man, which was still in use.

Kathleen said that the three of them were fortunate to still be so close.

“You hear of families or people that as they grow older, they haven’t seen their sister or brother in years,” Kathleen said. “We don’t have that.”

All three women have advice for younger generations, especially younger generations of sisters.

Have an opinion on this article? Send an email to jlasso@liherald.com. 

“Don’t be fussy,” Teresa said simply.

“Being happy and eating healthy and getting along with family members,” Kathleen added. “Those are three important things.”

“Take good care of yourself,” said Mary. “...Whatever you want to do, do it now because you never know what the later years are going to be like.”