A funeral Mass for Sister Ann Giese, SSND, was celebrated Feb. 20 at Sancta Maria in Ripa in St. Louis. Sister Ann (formerly Ann William) died on Feb. 14 at Anna House-The Sarah Community in Bridgeton. The School Sister of Notre Dame was 96 years old.
The older of two girls, she was born to Angela (Koenig) and William Giese in Quincy, Illinois, on May 29, 1929. She was baptized at St. John’s Church on June 2, 1929, and named Virginia Angela.
Virginia began her elementary education at St. Rose School. In the fourth grade, she transferred to St. Francis Solanus, which was staffed by the School Sisters of Notre Dame (SSND). In the seventh grade, Virginia experienced a desire to become a religious sister. She attended Notre Dame High School in Quincy.
Following graduation, she entered the candidature at Sancta Maria in Ripa in St. Louis on Aug. 27, 1947. She was received into the novitiate on July 28, 1949, and given the name, M. Ann William, in honor of her father. She professed first vows on July 29, 1950, and final vows on July 29, 1956. Later, she discontinued using the name William and was known as Sister Ann.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in English from the former Notre Dame College in St. Louis in 1957 and a master’s degree in education from Saint Louis University in 1968.
Sister Ann ministered as an elementary educator for 32 years across several states. In Missouri, she taught at St. Liborius (1950-51), St. Aloysius Gonzaga (1953-60) and Notre Dame Elementary (1981-82), all in St. Louis; and at Holy Family (1962-66) in Freeburg. She also taught at schools in Illinois, California and Nebraska.
In 1982, Sister Ann changed focus and became a pastoral minister at All Saints Parish in Keokuk, Iowa. Following a sabbatical in 1985 and a time of community service at Our Lady of Sorrows in St. Louis, she served as the activity director for the retired School Sisters of Notre Dame at Villa Gesu (1986-90) in St. Louis. She then spent six months as a driver at Sancta Maria in Ripa before becoming a staff member at St. Casimir Group Home (1991-93) for those with special needs. She served as the associate administrator at Rosary House, (1993-95), a retirement home in St. Louis. This was followed by ministering to the elderly at Cardinal Ritter Institute (1995-96) in St. Louis. She also was an activity director for the residents of Mother of Perpetual Help Residence (1996-97) in St. Louis.
In 1998, she was a teacher aide for several months at Notre Dame Preschool on the campus of Sancta Maria in Ripa. In 1999, she joined other SSND in the protest at the School of the Americas in Fort Benning, Georgia. She performed outreach volunteer services (1998-2011) at St. Anthony of Padua’s Food Pantry and St. Patrick Center and community service at the former St. Louis Motherhouse until 2011.
Sister Ann was missioned to Veronica House-The Sarah Community in 2011. In 2020, she returned to Mother of Perpetual Help Residence as a resident. As her health failed, she was missioned to Anna House-The Sarah Community in 2022.
Sister Ann was preceded in death by her parents, Angela and William Giese, and her sister, Dorothy (Jim) Costigan. She is survived by nieces, nephews and their families, friends, School Sisters of Notre Dame in community and SSND associates.
She gifted her brain to Washington University’s Memory and Aging Project. Burial was in the Sancta Maria in Ripa cemetery.
