Aston, PA—Sister Ann Joseph Hartman, OSF, 99, died in Assisi House on November 12, 2019. She had been a professed member of the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia for 78 years. Sister Ann Joseph was born Catherine Anna Hartman in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she was a member of All Saints Parish and a graduate of West Catholic High School. She entered the congregation in 1939 and professed her first vows in 1941. Sister Ann Joseph earned a B.S. in Nursing from Villanova University. She ministered primarily in healthcare and education.

In 1952, Sister Ann Joseph took on the position of nursing supervisor in the Archdiocese of Baltimore at St. Joseph Hospital in Baltimore where she continued to serve until 1977 and also served as a caregiver. Sister Ann helped coordinate the move from the original hospital location to the new facility in Towson in 1965.

Sister Ann Joseph ministered for 43 years in the Diocese of Trenton at St. Francis Medical Center, first as a student of nursing, then a staff nurse, and later as a volunteer in the Medical Records Department.

Her early assignments upon joining the congregation in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia included teaching at St. Alphonsus School, Philadelphia; St. Bernard School, Doylestown; and Resurrection School, Chester. In 2016 she moved to Assisi House, the congregation’s retirement residence in Aston where she served in prayer and hospitality ministry until her death.

Sister Ann Joseph’s additional ministry includes teaching at St. Francis Orphanage in Orwigsburg in the Diocese of Allentown.

All services will be held in Assisi House, 600 Red Hill Road, Aston, Pennsylvania, 19014 on Wednesday, November 20. A Christian Wake Service will be held at 9:30 A.M. followed by viewing. Mass of Christian Burial at will be at 11 A.M. Burial will be in Our Lady of Angels Cemetery in Aston. Sister Ann Joseph is survived by her brother, Robert Hartman (Sandra), sister-in-law Eleanor Hartman, nieces, nephews, great nieces, great nephews, and by her Franciscan family. Donations in her name can be made to the Sisters of St. Francis Foundation, 609 S. Convent Road, Aston, PA 19014.