Sr. IgoeA funeral Mass for Sister Anna John Igoe, CSJ, was celebrated Jan. 9 at Nazareth Living Center in south St. Louis County. Sister Anna John died Dec. 30 at the age of 93. She was a member of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet and a longtime educator.
Born on June 4, 1925, to John and Anastasia Fisher, she was baptized at St. Michael Church and named Marcella. She was taught by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, including at St. Leo School, Rosati-Kain High School and Fontbonne. Along the way, she had an inkling that she had a religious vocation but dismissed it. At Fontbonne, she felt a connection with Sister Mary Alfred, who helped her attend retreats and meet other religious sisters. Because of this, she came to the realization that “sisters are human too.” The more she encountered them, she thought that serving God might be the way to go for her.
In 1945, she entered the Sisters of St. Joseph, along with some classmates from Rosati-Kain. The following year, she was received into the community, and received the habit, taking the name Sister Anna John. She made her first profession in 1948 and her final profession in 1951. She also earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Fontbonne College in 1951.
Her first assignment was in 1948, as a teacher at Sts. John and James School in Ferguson. In 1951, she went to Houston to teach. In 1953, she returned to St. Louis to teach at Most Holy Rosary School in St. Louis. Other teaching assignments included St. Roch in St. Louis (1955-58); St. James, Denver. (1958-60); St. Patrick in Rolla, Mo., as principal and teacher (1960-63); Visitation in Kansas City, Mo., as principal (1963-65); St. James in Denver. (1965-69); St. Gregory in St. Ann as teacher and principal (1969-73); and St. Roch in St. Louis (1973-76).
In 1976, she took a sabbatical for two years, based at St. Joseph Parish in Marietta, Ga. In 1978, she became secretary at St. Mary on the Hill School in Augusta, Ga. The following year, she went to the Village of St. Joseph in Atlanta as a secretary.
In 1983, Sister Anna John returned to St. Louis, where she served as data controller/processor at St. Joseph Provincial House, where she served for 23 years. In 2016, she retired at the age of 81. In 2011, she moved to Nazareth Living Center, where she served in a ministry of prayer and presence.
Burial was in Resurrection Cemetery.