Aston, PA – Sister Joan Maenner (formerly Sister Marie Joan), OSF, died in Union Memorial Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland, on October 28. She was sixty-seven years of age and had been a professed member of the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia for forty-five years. Sister Joan was born in Baltimore, Maryland, where she was a member of St. Dominic Parish. She graduated from Towson Catholic High School and entered the congregation in 1958. She earned a B.A. in English from Neumann College in Aston, Pennsylvania; an M.A in Education and Administration from Towson State University in Towson, Maryland; and an M.A. in Theology from Notre Dame University in South Bend, Indiana. Sister Joan ministered in elementary education both as teacher and principal, in congregational ministry, and in parish ministry.
Sister Joan ministered for many years in the Archdiocese of Baltimore. From 1969-1971 she taught at St. Anthony School. From 1971-1981 she was principal of St. Katharine School where she introduced and implemented with her staff a continuous progress program which merited both state and national recognition. Sister Joan also served in congregational ministry for the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia, first as a Provincial Council member and later as Assistant Provincial for the former St. Joseph Province (which included both Maryland and Delaware). During this time, she lived at St. Anthony Convent in Baltimore which served as the provincial residence.
In 1989 Sister Joan moved to Western Maryland, ministering first at St. Mary Parish in Cumberland (1989-1990) and then at St. Joseph Parish in Midland where she served as Pastoral Life Director (1990-2004). At the time of her death, Sister Joan served as Pastoral Life Director of both Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish in Thurmont and St. Anthony Shrine in Emmitsburg. Additional service to the Archdiocese of Baltimore included hosting and teaching in the Church Leadership Institute and serving on many other committees.
Sister Joan also ministered in the Diocese of Wilmington where she taught at Corpus Christ School in Elsmere (1961-1965) and at Holy Angels School in Newark (1965-1969). She also served as Chair of the Board of Trustees of St. Francis for a number of years.
Sister Joan is the daughter of the late Nancy and John Maenner and the sister of the late William Maenner. In addition to her religious community, Sister Joan is survived by her brothers, John Maenner, Jr., and Jerry Maenner; a sister-in-law, Sharon Maenner; two nieces, Dawn and Nancy Maenner; and a nephew, William Maenner Jr.
The viewing will be held at the Stauffer Funeral Home, 104 East Main Street in Thurmont, Maryland, on Wednesday, November 1 from 2 P.M.- 4 P.M. and from 7 P.M.- 9 P.M. with a Wake Service at 8 P.M. The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 A.M. on Thursday, November 2, at St. Anthony Shrine, 16150 St. Anthony Road, Emmitsburg, Maryland. Bishop Francis Malooly will preside at the liturgy. Interment will be in Our Lady of Angels Cemetery in Aston, Pennsylvania. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her name to the Franciscan Ministries Foundation, 609 S. Convent Road, Aston, PA 19014.
