A funeral Mass for Sister Ellen Roach, CSJ, was celebrated June 24 at Nazareth Living Center in south St. Louis County. Sister Ellen died June 17 at the age of 98. She was a Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet for 77 years.
Sister Ellen, baptized Agnes Rita, was born on Dec. 17, 1927, in Chicago to parents Patrick Joseph and Ellen (Lyons) Roach. She entered the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet in February 1949 and was received into the novitiate a few months later in August as Sister Ellen Joseph. She earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Fontbonne College in 1962 and a master’s degree in English from Saint Louis University in 1968.
Sister Ellen was a teacher for her first 22 years of ministry. She taught at Our Lady of Lourdes Grade School in University City (1951-54); St. Paul High School in Negaunee, Michigan (1954-58); St. Mary Magdalen Grade School in St. Louis (1958-62); Reicher Catholic High School in Waco, Texas (1962-65); Little Flower High School in Chicago (1965-70); and St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Florissant (1970-73).
In 1973, Sister Ellen became the campus minister at the University of Missouri-Rolla. Two years later, she went on to serve as the assistant director of youth ministry for the Diocese of Montgomery in Alabama for five years while also teaching English at Auburn University. Staying down south, Sister Ellen served as the pastoral assistant at St. John Evangelist Parish in Valdosta, Georgia, from 1980-89.
The following year, Sister Ellen continued to grow in her education as a student at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago.
Beginning in 1990, Sister Ellen served the next 25 years in Colorado. She was the adult education coordinator at St. Mary Parish in Littleton (1990-2001) and an ESL tutor at Front Range Community College in Westminster (2003-12). She retired in 2012.
Sister Ellen moved to Nazareth Living Center in St. Louis in 2015, where she carried out her ministry of prayer and presence.
Burial was in Resurrection Cemetery.
