Watch Sr. Fran Kempenich Memorial video here.
Sister Frances Kempenich, age 97, died on July 22, 2022, at St. Francis Convent, Little Falls, Minn.
Frances Genevieve Kempenich was born on May 18, 1925, to Joseph and Frances (Simones) Kempenich in Randall, Minn. She was the sixth of 10 children. She was accepted as a Franciscan Sister on August 12, 1942, and received the name Sister Mary Matthew. She later reverted to her baptismal name. She made her first profession of vows on August 12, 1944, and final vows on August 12, 1947. She was a Franciscan Sister for 79 years.
Sister Frances attended grade school in Randall and graduated from St. Francis High School. She studied Spanish at the Intercultural Formation Center, Cuernavaca, Mexico, and learned drawing and pottery at the University of Minnesota, Morris, Minn.
Sister Frances served as missionary, housekeeper, cook, cottage mother, parish visitor, counselor and personal care attendant. She ministered in St. Cloud, Elk River, Little Falls, Princeton, Breckenridge, St. Paul, Baudette and Pierz, Minn. She was in the first group of Little Falls Franciscans to serve in Latin America and was a missionary in Peru, South America, for nine years.
Known to everyone as Sister Fran, she was an “all-around-sort-of-person” who had many talents. She was creative in candle making and produced beautiful original pieces of pottery, including a ceramic “heritage table” made for her family, which they treasured.
Sister Frances was very dedicated to serving others, especially the elderly and handicapped. She assisted her mother for the last few years preceding her death and also helped several of her handicapped sisters. She was the personal care attendant to Sister Mary Schuman for 23 years.
After many years of service, she enjoyed sharing community life in the “little” house on campus with Sister Bea Eichten and the cat called Boots.
Sister Fran will be dearly missed by everyone and will be fondly remembered for her love of fishing, playing the harmonica, cooking like her mother (mum) used to do, playing all kinds of card games, making beautiful pottery and candles, acting out plays, and watching and feeding the birds. On occasion she was known to have “a” beer, especially if it was a party in her honor. Her nieces and nephews have a deep appreciation, admiration and love for her, as she brought the religious life alive at family gatherings by being a role model and loving everyone unconditionally.
Sister Frances was preceded in death by her parents and siblings: Marguerite Larson, LeRoy, George, Sister Veronica, OSF, Joe, Gertrude Thesing, Jerry, Jim and Raymond. She is survived by sisters-in-law Marie Drew of Randall and Pat Kempenich of Pine City, 48 nieces and nephews, and many, many grand- and great-grand nieces and nephews and her Franciscan Community.
A Mass of Christian Burial was held on Thursday, July 28 at 11 a.m. at St. Francis Convent.
