Sister Jeanette Quinn, 88, died on March 18, 2019, at St. Francis Convent, Little Falls, Minn.
Jeanette Rose was born on October 16, 1930, to Leo and Lucy (Spieker) Quinn in Belle River, Minn. She was the second of three children. The family moved to Osakis when Jeanette was in the third grade and that remained her hometown. She attended the Osakis public schools from third grade through high school.
She graduated from high school in 1948 and then was a student at St. Cloud School of Nursing for two years. At the age of 14, Jeanette applied to and was accepted by the Mother Seton Sisters of Charity in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, but she did not have her parents’ permission to enter a convent at such a young age. However, the desire to become a sister remained and on July 31, 1951, she was accepted as a Franciscan Sister of Little Falls, Minnesota, and given the name Sister Mary de Montfort. She returned to her baptismal name in 1967. She was a Franciscan Sister for 67 years.
Sister Jeanette completed her nursing studies at St. Gabriel’s School of Nursing and received her RN in 1953. Later, through the External Studies Program at Bemidji State University, she earned a bachelor’s degree in community service, graduating summa cum laude. She was one of the five semi-finalists for the 1975-76 Out-Standing Student Award.
Sister Jeanette ministered as a nurse at St. Gabriel’s Hospital and St. Francis Convent Infirmary in Little Falls, St. Cloud Children’s Home, Community Mercy Hospital of Onamia, and St. Joseph Hospital, Dodgeville, Wis. After retiring from active nursing, Sister Jeanette did secretarial work for St. Gabriel’s Hospital Nursing Service and Radiology Departments. She completed her active ministry as secretary for the Development Office at St. Francis Convent.
Sister Jeanette had a great love for music. She played the French horn in her high school brass sextet and played bass violin for special liturgies at St. Francis Convent. She was also a member of the Heartland Symphony Orchestra. She especially enjoyed singing and was a member of the sisters’ choir for many years.
Sister Jeanette was a person with a mind for detail that she exhibited throughout her ministries of nursing and office work. Besides her love of music, she loved nature in all of its many beauties. She enjoyed walking the gravel roads and searching for agates, then stopping and looking with awe at a bird that caught her eye. Even after she was using a walker, she took long walks outdoors when weather permitted. She enjoyed writing poetry and was an avid reader of science fiction and biographies. At her 60th Jubilee, she summed up her life by saying, “God has done wonders for me and holy is His Name.”
Sister Jeanette’s parents, her brother Roger and her sister Charlene Mahony preceded her in death. She is survived by her sister-in-law Shirley Quinn, nieces and nephews, cousins, friends and by her Franciscan Community.
A wake will held for Sister Jeanette on March 24, 2019. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on March 25, 2019, at St. Francis Convent.
Donations to Franciscan Sisters ministries preferred.
