Sister Evelyn LaGory, CSJ
(Sister Marie Goretti)
70 years
Sister Evelyn LaGory entered the Sisters of St. Joseph in New Orleans in 1952. She earned B.S. in Education from Edgecliff College in Cincinnati, Ohio, and taught primary, intermediate grades and high school for 22 years. She then served as Executive Director of Housekeeping at the Fontbonne, a residence for working women in Cincinnati, and later as a pastoral minister at St. Pius Parish in South Cumminsville, Ohio.
From 1985-1995, she served as Director of Senior Services at St. John Social Service Center in Over the Rhine in Cincinnati, Ohio. While there, Sister Evelyn worked with the elderly assisting in their everyday needs, and worked as a Legal Aide in taking landlords to court for not keeping their buildings up to code where seniors resided. She received several awards in recognition for her service. From 1995-2010, she ministered at the Council on Aging as a Case Manager.
Sister Evelyn retired in 2010 and currently resides at our center in Wheeling. She stays active in prayer ministry and continues to offer service as she is able.
Sister Janice Miller, CSJ
(Sister George Ann)
70 years
Sister Janice Miller entered the Sisters of St. Joseph in Crookston, Minnesota, on September 8, 1950, and professed first vows on March 19, 1952. She holds a B.A. in English from the College of St. Catherine in St. Paul, Minnesota and an M.A. in English from the University of Notre Dame. She gained further training in spiritual direction and retreats in Guelph, Ontario.
Sister Janice began teaching in elementary and high school and was a principal in Crookston and in the Twin Cities. She served in provincial administration and was pastoral administrator in the Diocese of Crookston for parishes without a resident priest. She was directress of the intercongregational novitiate in San Antonio for four years and a member of the Medaille General Council from 1995 to 1998. She then moved to St. Paul where she offered spiritual services to the residents of St. Paul Retirement Village.
In 2010, Sister Janice she moved to our center in Wichita, Kansas, where she offered her spiritual direction and retreat skills at the Magnificat Spirituality Center, and assisted with hospitality. She is currently retired and stays active volunteering and in prayer ministry.
Sister Janet Roesener, CSJ
(Sister Mary Thomas)
70 years
Sister Janet Roesener entered the Sisters of St. Joseph in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1952. She earned a B.A. in Chemistry from Edgecliff College and an M.Ed. in Chemistry and Administration from Xavier University in Cincinnati. She began teaching at the elementary level and then taught high school chemistry for two years before moving into school administration, both at the secondary and the elementary level. She was elected to leadership and became the American Associate General of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Bourg, France. After the separation of the American sisters from France, Sister Janet was elected Superior General of the new Sisters of St. Joseph of Medaille. After serving in that leadership position for eight years, she became Executive Director of LCWR from 1986 to 1992. She then accepted the position of Director of the National Religious Retirement Office in Washington, DC, from 1993 to 1997, and then ministered as a full-time facilitator working with religious communities throughout the United States.
Currently, Sister Janet is retired and resides at our center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where she stays active volunteering and in prayer ministry.
Sister Patricia Sullivan, CSJ
(Sister Mary Kevin)
70 years
Sister Patricia Anne Sullivan, a native of New Orleans, entered the Sisters of St Joseph in New Orleans on September 8, 1952, after her High School graduation from St. Joseph Academy. She attended St. Joseph’s Junior College and Loyola University where she graduated with a BS in Education in 1963. Later on, she began studies at the University of New Orleans where she earned a Masters of Science in Counseling in 1975.
Sister Pat’s long career in Education began in 1954 in New Orleans, where she taught in several Archdiocesan Elementary Schools. In 1968 she moved to Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, and served as a teacher and later as Principal at Our Lady of the Gulf Elementary School, a position she held until 1976.
That year, Sister Pat became Administrator of St. Joseph’s Children’s Home in Baton Rouge until its closing in 1985. She then served as Principal of Sacred Heart Elementary School for twenty-one years.
Beginning in 2006, Sister Pat served as Administrator of our Community at St. Joseph’s Academy, which in 2009 moved to our new Center on Hundred Oaks Avenue in Baton Rouge. She remained in that position until 2013.
Retired from Administration ministry, Sister Pat became a mentor for several young women discerning religious life with our Congregation. She also continues to serve as a mentor to an Associate Circle today.
Sister Pat resided in Baton Rouge from 1976 until 2021, then retired and moved to our center in Wheeling, West Virginia, where she continues to offer her gifts of leadership and prayer.
Sister Rose Marie Brouillard, CSJ
(Sister Mary Florence)
60 years
Sister Rose Marie Brouillard entered the Sisters of St. Joseph in Crookston, Minnesota, on August 22, 1959. When she received the Habit in May of 1960, she also received the religious name of Sister Mary Florence, but following Vatican Council II, resumed her baptismal name of Rose Marie.
She attended St. Joseph’s Junior College and Corbett College in Crookston and studied nursing at St. Francis School of Nursing. Sister Rose Marie’s ministries included participation in Sisters Care in St. Paul, Minnesota for several years. She also ministered as a nurse’s aide at hospitals and nursing homes in Crookston, Park Rapids, and Baudette, Minnesota for over forty years. During her years in Park Rapids, Sister Rose Marie also helped facilitate the growing group of CSJ Associates.
When she retired in 2020, Sister Rose Marie moved back to Crookston where her volunteer activities included assisting family members. She currently resides at the Benedictine Living Community in Crookston with two other Sisters of St. Joseph.
Sister Geraldine Riendeau, CSJ
(Sister Mary Celine)
60 years
Sister Geraldine Riendeau entered the Sisters of St. Joseph in Crookston, Minnesota, in 1962. She earned an Associate of Arts degree at Corbett Junior College in Crookston, a B.A. in Hospital Administration and Business Administration at Concordia College in Morehead, Minnesota, and achieved a certificate for dietary administration for food service managers and a certificate for housekeeping from the Catholic Hospital Association in St. Louis, Missouri.
Her first two decades of ministry included cooking and housekeeping responsibilities at the Provincial House and for the lunch program for the Catholic school system in Crookston. For twelve years, she was supervisor of dietary, housekeeping and laundry at Trinity Hospital in Baudette, Minnesota. In 1989, she became part-time treasurer for the Medaille founding community and moved to Cincinnati in 1997 to become treasurer, and eventually finance manager there until 2009. She then served as finance manager at our center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where she also served as the Congregation Technology Training Coordinator.
In 2020, Sister Geraldine moved to St. Joseph Villa at our center in Wichita where she resides and is a member of the Congregational IT Team. She also volunteers in a variety of ways assisting with Zooms and the Sisters with technology difficulties.
Sister Ruthann Scherer, CSJ
(Sister Mary Rose)
60 years
Sister Ruthann Scherer entered the Sisters of St. Joseph in Crookston, Minnesota, on August 15, 1962. She attended St. Joseph’s Academy in Crookston, graduating in 1962. She went on to attend college at St. Joseph’s Junior College and Agassiz Valley School of Practical Nursing where she earned her LPN in Nursing in 1976. While in school, she served several convents in Crookston and in St. Paul, Minnesota, and one in Somerset, Wisconsin, cooking for the sisters and doing other house services.
After earning her LPN, Sister Ruthann began her career in nursing in 1977 at Riverview Hospital in Crookston, where she served until 1997. She then moved to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Park Rapids, Minnesota, until 2002. Later that year, she accepted a position as Health Care Supervisor at Marywood in Crookston. In 2005, she returned to Riverview Hospital and served as a nurse until 2015 when she retired.
In April of 2016, Sister Ruthann moved to Wheeling, West Virginia, in 2017 she served as the Coordinator of Community Life at our center there. She retired a few years later and currently resides at Mount St. Joseph in Wheeling.
Sister Lucy Silvio, CSJ
60 years
Sister Lucy Silvio entered the Sisters of St. Joseph in New Orleans in 1959, and professed first vows in 1962. She earned a B.A. in English Education at St. Mary’s Dominican College in New Orleans, an M.E. degree in educational administration at the University of New Orleans, and a Masters in Christian Spirituality at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. She is certified both as an Enneagram and Myers-Briggs teacher.
Sister Lucy began her ministry career as an elementary school teacher and principal in Baton Rouge and in Harahan, Louisiana. She served the Medaille founding community as the New Orleans Provincial Coordinator and as Executive Formation Director. She also conducted retreats at the Jesuit Spirituality Center in Grand Coteau, Louisiana, was a staff member at the Archdiocesan Spirituality Center in New Orleans, and served as Director of Formation and Pastoral Field Education at Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans.
In 1994, Sister Lucy was elected president of the Medaille founding community, a position she held for eight years. After a sabbatical in Orange, California, she moved back to Baton Rouge and became Associate Director of the St. Joseph Spirituality Center, and later served as Mission Effectiveness Director at St. Joseph’s Academy and Diocesan Vicar for Religious. She also served as President of the CSJ Ministries Board and was involved with U.S. Federation of Sisters of St. Joseph formation programs and events.
Currently, Sister Lucy is retired from active ministry and resides at our center in Baton Rouge where she continues to serve as an Associate Mentor and on various Congregational committees. She is also a member of the St. Joseph’s Academy Foundation Board.
Sister Adelaide Williamson, CSJ
60 years
Sister Adelaide Williamson, a native of Baton Rouge and graduate of St. Joseph’s Academy, entered the Sisters of St. Joseph in New Orleans in 1959. She earned a B.A. in Social Studies from St. Mary’s Dominican College in New Orleans and an M.A. in art education at Texas Tech University.
She began teaching at the elementary level in New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Harahan, Louisiana, and ministered as a house mother for three years at St. Joseph’s Children’s Home in Baton Rouge. A lover of all the visual and performing arts, Sister Adelaide taught art at St. Joseph’s Academy in Baton Rouge for 34 years, where she also honed her skills assisting with choral music theatrical productions and working with school ceremonies, until her retirement in 2008. She then ministered as a teacher’s aide at Sacred Heart Elementary School in Baton Rouge and conducted private art lessons.
Currently, Sister Adelaide resides in Baton Rouge where she stays active volunteering wherever God calls her.
