The second of six children was born June 12, 1946, to Mary Catherine (Hoffman) and Bernard Grefenkamp at St. Mary’s Hospital in St. Louis. She was baptized on July 14, 1946, at St. James Church in St. Louis and named Jean Marie.

Jean began her education with the School Sisters of Notre Dame at St. Bernadette in Lemay. In November of first grade, the family moved to Woodson Terrace in St. Louis County, and she attended St. Gregory School in St. Ann staffed by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. After seventh grade, the family moved again, and she completed her elementary education at Christ the King School in University City under the guidance of the Sisters of Mercy. She attended Mercy High School for her freshman and sophomore years and then enrolled at University City Senior High School for her last two years.

Jean had a desire to become a religious sister since her early school years and that desire got stronger as she grew older. She entered the candidature at Sancta Maria in Ripa and received the postulant veil Aug. 23, 1964. She was received into the novitiate July 29, 1965, and given the name Miriam Josanne. Later, she returned to her baptismal name, Sister Jean Marie. She professed first vows July 30, 1966, and final vows July 30, 1971.

Sister Jean Marie earned a bachelor’s degree in American Studies from the former Notre Dame College in St. Louis in 1975. During her years as a School Sister of Notre Dame, Sister Jean Marie served in a variety of ministries. She began her ministry career as a child care worker at St. Elizabeth’s Day Nursery in St. Louis. She was an elementary teacher at Notre Dame Elementary and Our Lady of Perpetual Help in St. Louis and St. Jude Academy in San Diego, California.

In 1986, she studied to become an emergency medical technician (EMT). For five years, she served as an EMT for Abbott Ambulance Service and 911 Emergency Medical Services in St. Louis. In 1993, she spent a year teaching English at Instituto Notre Dame in El Progreso, Honduras. She then was a driver for Care Cab in St. Louis. After two years as a cab driver, she returned to Honduras and ministered to women at Immaculate Conception in Sulaco.

In 1998, she became a bus driver for Ryder Transportation in St. Louis. Three years later, she served as a staff member at Gateway Community Blood Center. In 2003, she continued this ministry as a phlebotomist at Community Blood Center and then at Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center, both in St. Louis.

In December 2011, she had surgery and received a lung transplant. Afterward, she served as a mentor to lung transplant patients at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and continued to volunteer at the Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center. In early November 2023, she was hospitalized with pneumonia.

Sister Jean Marie was a joyful person who generously gave of herself and shared her gifts with others. She was a person who loved life, especially driving. She rode a motorcycle and was an avid St. Louis Cardinals fan. Her own experience of receiving a lung transplant enabled her to patiently wait with other recipients and their families. By listening and being present to these vulnerable persons, she helped to alleviate their fears and anxieties.

Sister Jean Marie is survived by her sisters, Joan Carraway, Jane (David) Teichman and Mary Rose Miller. She was preceded in death by her parents and her brothers, Joseph and Gregory.

Interment was in the Sancta Maria in Ripa cemetery.