Sister Joyce Ann Waltz, CSJ
(Sister Mary Leonard)
70 Years
Sister Joyce Ann Waltz was born in Fairmont, West Virginia, where she attended St. Peter’s Grade and High Schools. She entered the Congregation of St. Joseph on February 2, 1953. She received a Bachelor of Science/Education degree in music from Marywood College in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Sister Joyce Ann ministered as a teacher and principal in diocesan elementary and high schools including St. Francis Xavier in Moundsville, West Virginia, St. Vincent de Paul School and Central Catholic High School in Wheeling, West Virginia; St. Anne School in Bristol, Virginia; Blessed Sacrament School in South Charleston, West Virginia; All Saints School in Bridgeport, West Virginia; St. Mary School in Clarksburg, West Virginia; and St. Patrick School in Weston, West Virginia. She also served as Coordinator of Learning at the Good Samaritan House in Wheeling.
Following her teaching career, Sister Joyce ministered to the sisters at Mount St. Joseph for several years and served on several congregational committees. She then served as a member of the Board of Directors of Holy Family Child Care & Development Center in Wheeling, one of the ministries in the Congregation’s Mission Network.
Sister Joyce Ann resides in Wheeling and stays active by volunteering and in prayer ministry.
Sister Jane Harrington, CSJ
(Sister Miriam)
65 Years
Sister Jane Harrington, a native of Bluefield, West Virginia, entered the Congregation of St. Joseph in 1958, and professed first vows on July 31, 1961. She earned a Bachelor of Science and Master of Religious Education degrees from Wheeling Jesuit University, and a Master of Science degree in chemistry at Purdue University.
In addition to teaching at Central Catholic High School in Wheeling, Sister Jane served as principal at Notre Dame High School in Clarksburg and as teacher and Co-Principal at Bishop Donahue High School in McMechen. She ministered as a pastoral associate with the Catholic Community of St. John Fisher at Bethany from 1984-1987. For ten years she was Diocesan Regional Coordinator of Education and Formation in the southern portion of West Virginia. She was also a member of the Sisters of St. Joseph Leadership Team during the 1980s. In 1997 Sister Jane became the first Executive Director of the Sisters of St. Joseph Charitable Fund (now the Sisters Health Foundation) with offices in Parkersburg. She continued as Executive Director for fifteen years, retiring from the position in 2012. Since that time, she has served as chair of the West Virginia Oral Health Coalition, and member and Chairperson of the West Virginia Healthy Kids and Families Coalition. Most recently, she chaired the Board of Directors of Catholic Charities West Virginia.
Reflecting on her Jubilee, Sister Jane says, “At this point in my life and in my life in the Congregation of St. Joseph, I am very grateful for God’s goodness to me that is daily revealed to me in family, friends, and members of the Congregation. I have grown to cherish ever more deeply the charism of the Sisters of St. Joseph – that All may be One – particularly in light of the terrible divisions in our country and world. My hope and prayer is that in my ordinary actions and encounters, I might extend some small measure of God’s warm embrace and acceptance to those I meet.”
Sister Joan Singer, CSJ
(Sister Paula)
65 years
Sister Joan Singer, a Wheeling native, entered the Congregation of St. Joseph in 1958 and professed vows in 1961. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and a Master of Religious Education degree from Wheeling Jesuit University. In addition, she received a Master of Arts in English from West Virginia University and completed Clinical Pastoral Education at Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown. She is certified as a chaplain through the National Association of Catholic Chaplains.
Sister Joan taught at Central Catholic High School in Wheeling, Fairmont Catholic Grade School and Fairmont Catholic High School, St. Francis Xavier Grade School in Moundsville, Corpus Christi Grade School in Warwood, Bishop Donahue High School in McMechen, and Wheeling Catholic Elementary School in Wheeling. She served in the pastoral care department of Wheeling Hospital, ministering mainly at the Bishop Joseph H. Hodges Continuous Care Center, until her retirement in 2016. She also served as a member of the Advisory Committee for Mount Saint Joseph and for the Wheeling Associates.
Sister Joan currently resides at Mount St. Joseph in Wheeling where she enjoys her ministry of prayer and being present to the sisters there.
Sister Joan Kreyenbuhl, CSJ
(Sister Joan Marie)
60 years
As a child, Sister Joan Kreyenbuhl was a student of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Wheeling; first at All Saints Grade School in Bridgeport, West Virginia, and later at Notre Dame High School in Clarksburg, West Virginia. She entered the community upon her graduation and went on to attend Wheeling Jesuit University, receiving a BA in political science and an MA in religion and education from St. Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri.
Sister Joan began in ministry as a schoolteacher in Wheeling, Clarksburg, and Parkersburg, West Virginia. She served in Congregational leadership and as director of religious education for St. Vincent de Paul parish. Her career in healthcare leadership began in 1989 when she began the Mission Effectiveness Program at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Parkersburg. In this position, she was able to bring the spirituality of the Sisters of St. Joseph to the healing profession and is particularly pleased to have introduced the practice of blessing the hands of healers within the hospital setting.
In addition to this work, Sister Joan served on the board of directors at St. Joseph’s Hospital, St. Francis Hospital, United Hospital Center in Clarksburg, Mid-Ohio Valley Fellowship Home, The Arc Board, and Good Samaritan Clinic. She also served as president of Catholic Charities Board of Directors. In 2013, she was elected to the leadership team of the Congregation of St. Joseph, a term she served until 2018.
Although retired, Sister Joan remains active in Parkersburg Rotary, in her parish of St. Margaret Mary, and as a member of the board of directors for West Virginia University Camden Clark Medical Center, a position she has held since 2021. She currently resides at Mt. St. Joseph in Wheeling, where she enjoys gardening, travel (she has visited most of the United States, as well as several countries, including Russia and Japan), and reading.
To live with the Spirit of God is to be a listener,
It is to keep the vigil of mystery,
earthless and still.
One leans to catch the stirring of the Spirit,
strange as the wind’s will.
The soul that walks where the wind of the Spirit blows
turns like a wandering weather-vane toward love…
– “To Live with the Spirit,” by Sister Miriam of the Holy Spirit, OCD
Sister Pat Murray, CSJ
25 Years
Sister Pat Murray was one of 4 children born to John and Dorothy Murray of Berwyn, Illinois. Before entering the congregation, she earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Rosary College.
Sister Pat entered the Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Heart in 1998. She ministered in the Diocese of Ft. Wayne/South Bend, Indiana, as a Pastoral Administrator, College Campus Minister, and Director of Religious Education. In 2009, she became Program Director at ABLE Families in Kermit, West Virginia, a member of the Congregation of St. Joseph Mission Network. She was promoted to Executive Director in 2011. While at ABLE Families, Sister Pat felt the call to transfer her vows to the Congregation of St. Joseph. She professed vows in 2016. After her transfer, she served as a consultant for the West Virginia Home Visitation Program and as Managing Director of Ministry of the Arts in LaGrange Park, Illinois.
Sister Pat currently serves as the Manager of Operations for The Leadership Collaborative, a formation program for emerging leaders among women religious and religious associates.
