Sr. Jean Marie BlakeThe funeral Mass for Sister Jean Marie Blake was celebrated Aug. 14 at the School Sisters of Notre Dame’s Theresa Center, Sancta Maria in Ripa, in south St. Louis County. Sister Jean Marie (formerly Agnes Joseph) died Aug. 6 at Anna House of The Sarah Community in Bridgeton. She was 86 and a retired elementary teacher.
Born in St. Louis, Sister Jean Marie entered the School Sisters of Notre Dame in 1950. She professed first vows in 1953 and final vows in 1959. She earned a bachelor’s degree in history from the former Notre Dame College in St. Louis in 1960 and a master’s degree in education administration from Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio in 1968.
Sister Jean Marie taught elementary education for 62 years. She taught at St. Liborius in St. Louis, St. Anthony in Sullivan, Holy Angels in East St. Louis, Ill., and in Chicago and Iowa. For 52 years, she ministered in the South, 44 of those years in schools in the New Orleans archdiocese. In Gainesville, Texas, she sought funds for building the motherhouse in Irving, Texas. She also taught in Mississippi and elsewhere in Louisiana. In 2007, Sister Jean Marie helped open St. Dominic School in New Orleans and spent her last years there tutoring children.
Sister Jean Marie enjoyed helping others in need, including providing assistance to Houston residents after Hurricane Harvey and helping them obtain FEMA disaster relief. She also supported missions in Africa and Haiti.
Survivors include a brother, William of Punta Gorda, Fla. Burial was in the Sancta Maria in Ripa Cemetery.