From 1981 to 1984 she worked as a baker in West Glacier, Montana, then three years at a university in Lockport, Illinois. Community members, family and friends remember Sister Rita Marie as a naturally curious person who asked a lot of questions and read many books on a variety of topics. From 1995 to 1998, Sister Betty was asked to serve as treasurer for the FSPA Central Region in Hiawatha, Iowa. . Their honeymoon was to travel west to bring Sister Anita back home and reunite the family. Sister Patricia was received into the novitiate in 1963 and given the name, Sister Mary Owen. Sister Rita then worked at Henry Field Store in Storm Lake as a salesperson and typist until 1952. Sister Margaret was received into the novitiate on August 12, 1946, and was given the name Sister Mary Joel. After 13 years as a classroom teacher, Sister Patricia took courses at the Center for Pastoral Ministry in Kansas City and then moved into parish ministry in Davenport, Iowa, Tulsa, Oklahoma and Kansas City, Missouri. Franciscan Sisters provide brief update on activities during pandemic By KATE DAY SAGER Olean Times Herald Oct 30, 2020 Franciscan Sisters of Allegany who reside at St. Elizabeth Motherhouse. After leaving the classroom in 1976, she was on staff at Northern Province House in Arbor Vitae, Wisconsin with responsibility for food service and maintenance. Friends, family and community members remember Sister Joanne as having a quiet, loving heart for the poor, especially the elderly poor. Community members, family, colleagues and friends will remember Sister Cecilienne as an excellent music teacher and a master organist. The first 31 years of Sister Frances religious life were spent as a homemaker and dietitian at various convents in Wisconsin and Iowa, including periods of time at Aquinas High School, St. Rose Convent and Villa St. Joseph in La Crosse. The person we lost is Sister Annette Fessler, who died on Oct. 29 at the age of 95. She brought her medical skills and missionary interest with her. She loved her family and had made an extensive family tree. Her fathers work, assistant sales manager for Auto-lite, led the family to move to La Crosse shortly after her birth. Franciscan Sisters of Allegany and Associates | Allegany NY She attended Sacred Heart Grade School there, taught by the FSPA. Alleluia! After receiving a bachelors degree in English from Viterbo College (University), La Crosse, she went on for a masters degree in English from Marquette University, Milwaukee. Sister Ceciliennes ministry was in the area of music. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in History with a minor in English from Viterbo College (University) and an MS in Education from Xavier University in Cincinnati. Her family moved to a farm near Storm Lake, Iowa in 1947. She started out in the primary grades and quickly moved to middle and junior high, eventually serving as principal for seven years while at Holy Family School, Ashland and Sacred Heart School, Eau Claire. Community members, family, colleagues and friends remember Sister Pat as an excellent music teacher. Growing up on the farm, Kathleen and her seven brothers and sisters had many opportunities to learn and do everything from feeding the chickens, shocking grain, herding cattle, picking corn to multiple kitchen tasks. She saw the bread loaf lovingly placed on the guests cabin tables as a way of sharing Eucharist. Her work in Minneapolis was evidence of her compassionate and helpful nature. She loved spending time in the Adoration Chapel while at St. Rose Convent and often filled her retirement days making craft items for the gift shops at St. Rose and Villa St. Joseph. Since she couldn't stop doing for others, a special aspect of her Marywood ministry was baking mini loaves of bread to welcome visitors. The Sisters of St. Francis of Sylvania, Ohio are engaged in such diverse ministries as education, health care, social services, religious education and more. Later, she returned to her baptismal name. Sister Jean has been selected to be honored with the Viterbo University Pope St. John XXIII Award, the highest non-academic award bestowed by the university, in May 2020. Sister Mary Myron started teaching in grades one through three and ended up teaching high school. She grew up on the family farm with her four brothers and two sisters, all younger. Community members, family and friends remember Sister Geralyn as a kind, quiet person who always loved children, music and the parishioners at St. Joseph. She later returned to her baptismal name. Celebrate With Us! by Franciscan Sisters of Our Lady of Perpetual Help | Sep 13, 2022 | Franciscan Sisters News, LCWR, Obituaries, Uncategorized. Before retiring to St. Rose Convent in 2006, Sister Margaret also volunteered at Immaculate Conception School in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. In her early years, Mary Jane began knitting and crocheting, a hobby she carried into her adult life. She was devoted to little children and prayed daily for the children of the world. With her graduate degree in hand, she began teaching Spanish at Woodstock High School in Woodstock, Illinois. She thrived on helping people and especially loved her adoration hours. Upon her retirement, the executive director of David School, Danny Greene, summed up her impact, Sister Mary Myron has truly been a gift from God. After a sabbatical, she studied to become a massage therapist, a profession she practiced for six years at the Idyllwild Help Center in Idyllwild, California. She was in the seventy-first year of her religious profession. Family was considered her best friends. Later, she returned to her baptismal name. During Catholic Sisters Week (March 8-14), join the congregations of Catholic Sisters and us throughout Illinois in refusing to use any single-use plastic beverage bottles. Two years later on Christmas Eve again, a change took place in the Beskar family when her father announced that he was marrying Leona Buberl. Sister Valerie Lemansky, age 90, a member of the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity, passed away on Tuesday, January 31, 2023, at Holy Family Convent, Manitowoc. Family and community members remember Sister Pat for her quick Irish witalways with a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye. Sister Loiss last seven years of active ministry were in child care for two families in the St. Paul area. She later returned to her baptismal name. During that time, she took additional bookkeeping courses at Indiana University. Missionary Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception Celebrating 70 years of God's Goodness and presence in Papua New Guinea The 16th of September 2019, a special day to remember with gratitude and joyful praise for God's goodness reflected in the lives of the Missionary Franciscan Sisters [ . ] Sister Donna served as an elementary teacher for 14 years in schools in Washington (St. Augustines, Spokane [1952-1955 and 1963-1964]) and Wisconsin (Sacred Heart, Ashland [1950-1952]), La Crosse (St. Wenceslaus [1956-1963] and Blessed Sacrament [1964-1965]). She was in the 66th year of her religious profession. She received a bachelors degree in business education with a minor in English from Viterbo College (University), then continued in the field of business at Mount St. Mary College in Milwaukee, College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, Minnesota, Indiana University and Notre Dame University. News reports show that, as of July 16, in addition to the 13 Felicians in Livonia, at least 19 other sisters have died in the United States, including a Felician sister at the order's convent in Lodi, New Jersey; six sisters from two communities at a shared convent outside Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and three Maryknoll Sisters in Ossining, New York . Sister Ladonna Kassmeyer, FSPA, 84, died Monday night, August 3, 2020, of a massive heart attack at Mayo Clinic Health System-Franciscan Healthcare, La Crosse, Wisconsin. She didnt enter religious life until after high school; ultimately, joining her aunt and cousin at St. Rose Convent in La Crosse. Sister Sandra DeMann, Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration, 72, died of cardiac arrest Friday, May 22, 2020 at John C. Lincoln North Mountain Medical Center, Phoenix, Arizona. She ministered there until 2021 when she moved to St. Rose Convent in La Crosse. We bring the presence of the loving, serving, compassionate, healing Jesus to all people, especially those who are lonely . Mangaluru, Oct 18: The provincial Ursuline Franciscan Sisters had their VIII Province Chapter in Shanthi Dham Provincialate, Derlakatte from October 17 to 21 on the theme 'Ursuline Franciscan Sisters: Commissioned to Launch into the Deep'. She loved her family and visited them in Washington state as often as possible. Sister Joselda served her Sisters as a homemaker and housekeeper from 1948 to 1992 in Durand,Boscobel and La Crosse in Wisconsin and Coon Rapids, Iowa, with the last 15 years at her home parish in St. Lucas, where she also was able to assist her elderly mother. Villa St. Joseph became her home again, retiring in 2018. Sister Betty is remembered for her love of God, life and teaching. When the FSPA congregation opened its spirituality centers, the facilities benefited from her excellent furniture upholstery work a hobby she continuedfor years. Her profession of vows was made on August 12, 1959, and final profession on August 10, 1964. After attending the Creation Spirituality Program in Oakland, California, Sister Donna served on the retreat staff at Holy Cross Center in Merrill, Wisconsin. Meet one of our Sisters responding to the needs of our community and the world. She later went back to her baptismal name. She began her tertiary education at Viterbo College (University) in the field of education. She continued these activities until her health began to fail. It was difficult and terrifying at first and then she fell in love with it. During those two years, she worked in her fathers bakery. Born on Oct. 7, 1927 in Sparta, Wisconsin, to William and Alice (Senogles) Sheridan, Sister Patricia grew up in Kendall, Wisconsin where her father worked for the Sheridan Lumber Company. She had taken several business subjects in high school, so she did secretarial work for three years before entering St. Rose Convent in La Crosse on July 29, 1941. As a toddler, Marie would follow her mother around the kitchen and in the garden, picking berries, plums, grapes and whatever else was in season. The 70th Jubilee group included Sr. Mary . By the end of her freshman year, she responded to this call. She was an elementary school teacher for the majority of her active religious life, teaching grades one through four. While in Cedar Rapids, Sister Anita began doing youth ministry in the parish and vocation education in the congregation. She served as a primary school teacher for eight years in Iowa (Mallard and Dedham) and Wisconsin (St. Joseph Ridge, Eau Galle, Ashland and Edgar). At the end of her time at Viterbo, Sister Anita was invited to serve as an FSPA representative on the inter-congregational coordinating team for the preparation and celebration of the 150th anniversary of the founding of the congregation. She was in the sixty-seventh year of her religious profession. Community members, family and colleagues will remember Sister Donna as a caring, creative person who loved life and loved her God. After graduating high school from Holy Names Academy, Joanne wanted to become a sister, but her parents objected. As the religious sisters from Our Lady of the Angels Convent in Tenafly admired . It is one of our missions that provide educational, spiritual and advocacy programs to help the nearby residents build better lives for themselves, their families and their communities. She then attended Marycliff High School in Spokane. She began her ministry as an elementary school music teacher in 1949: first in Spokane (St. Augustine), Wash. and then in La Crosse (Holy Trinity). She had been taught by sisters for two years, but in her earlier years was not attracted to their communities. Community members, family, colleagues and friends remember Sister Helen as an exceptional nurse and instructor. Community members, family and friends remember Sister Agnes as having a heart of gold for the sisters she served as a homemaker and for the children whose lives she touched in Mississippi and Texas. She received a Bachelor of Science in Education from Viterbo College (University) and a Master of Arts in Education: Instruction and Curriculum from St. John College, Cleveland, Ohio. Sisters of St. Francis of Sylvania Ohio 6832 Convent Blvd. She helped found a Father Solanus Prayer Circle and had organized several pilgrimages to Detroit, Michigan, where Father Solanus spent most of his religious life. Her life will be celebrated with a Mass of Resurrection Friday, September 23. Impressive! Sister Pat was known for the rapport she had with students and the quality of performance she was able to elicit from them. She was in the seventy-third year of her religious profession. During her third year in college, she was offered a position at the Spokesman-Review newspaper as a reporter. She completed high school at St. Marys Academy in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. She was the ninth of 10 children in her family, all born on the family farm. After retiring, while teaching ESL, she began learning Chinese in order to better communicate with her students. Sister Dorothy was received into the novitiate on August 12, 1959 and was given the name Sister Dorothy Ann. Franciscan Sister Elaine Urbanek passes away December 27, 2022, at the age of 99 years. Diverse ministries serving the marginalized involved teaching English, providing transportation, helping with housing and offering support to those experiencing mental illness. On August 12, 1954, she made her first profession of vows as a Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration. In 1982, she moved to Waterloo, Iowa, to resume her ministry of occupational therapy, serving mainly children with severe disabilities at River Hills School. After graduating Ladycliff College with a BA in History, she earned a Masters Degree from Seton Hall University in Reading and an MS . There, she met the Notre Dame Sisters and her interest in religious life began. She later went back to her baptismal name. In 1999, she was officially incorporated as a Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration. In 1998, Sister Margaret Ann officially retired from teaching, but continued to volunteer at the parish and school at Our Lady of the Lake in Ashland. Sister Pats love for music and keen musical ability served as the basis for much of Sister Pats ministry. While at Viterbo, she was asked to create furnishings for the expanded St. Francis Chapel, situated below Mary of the Angels Chapel at St. Rose Convent. Sister Bernadette Prochaska, FSPA, 88, died Wednesday morning, January 6, 2021 of pancreatic cancer at St. Rose Convent, La Crosse, Wisconsin. August 15, 1930 July 18, 2022, by Franciscan Sisters of Our Lady of Perpetual Help | Jul 11, 2022 | Franciscan Sisters News, LCWR, Obituaries, SISTER ANGELITA LAWS, OSF In 1953 she was received into the FSPA novitiate and given the name Sister Geralyn. A highlight of her life took place in 1995, when she was invited to participate in a pilgrimage to Rome, where she had the privilege of meeting Pope St. John Paul II. Her low-key personality, sense of humor and ability to go with the flow drew people to her.