Sister Joan Marie Jones

Sister Joan Marie Jones, formerly Shirley Ann Jones of Elyria, Ohio, a Poor Clare of Perpetual Adoration located at Sancta Clara Monastery in Canton, Ohio, born February 6th, 1935, and into the 87th year of her eventful life, gently left this world on the night of July 26th, 2022, surrounded in companionship by the presence of her fellow Sisters. She was preceded in death by her beloved parents, George and Lillian Jones, her sisters, Agnes O’Conner, Marie Poling, and Anne Heath. She is survived by her sister, Cathy (Steve) Fuchs of Elyria, Ohio, as well as by many nieces and nephews. A highly talented person, Sr. Joan Marie was a uniquely accomplished spiritual songwriter, singer, artist, gardener, and leadership person. Before choosing the life of the cloister, she gave fifteen years of her devotion and talents to the work of education as a member of the Teaching Sisters of Notre Dame located in Chardon, Ohio. She had the extraordinary experience of teaching in Washington D.C. during the Kennedy years and cherished memories of schooling the Kennedy children and interacting with their parents, and in 1964 attended the funeral march of President J.F. Kennedy and his family members. Her encounters with public figures included that of Bishop Fulton Sheen. During her time as a teaching Sister, she worked with a team on an updated edition of classroom studies for religious education to be distributed across a broad spectrum of primary educational locales. It was on January 6, 1975, that Sister Joan Marie transferred to the Poor Clares of Canton, Ohio, making a perpetual solemn commitment on May 22, 1976. She served as Abbess of the Community from 1984 to 1993, effecting well-chosen renewal innovations and improvements at the Monastery. Sixty years later in the summer of 2015 at Sancta Clara Monastery, her Community and Monastery friends celebrated the fullness of her 60 years in a life of religious vows, and on Monday, August 1, 2022, following the final fulfillment of sixty-seven years dedicated to this religious commitment, she will once more be celebrated, preceded by a Wake Service in the Chapel from 9 to 10 am. The Funeral Mass in the Monastery Chapel will begin at 10:30 am and be presided over by Fr. Thomas Cebula, with the burial ceremony conducted within the Monastery Cemetery located directly to the southward side of the Chapel. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Sancta Clara Monastery, 4200 N Market Ave, Canton, OH 44714.

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