A prayer service for Sister Ann Marie Owen, OSU, was held on Sept. 12 at St. Peter Cemetery in Kirkwood. Also known as Sister Charles Marie, Sister Ann Marie died peacefully on Sept. 5 at St. Andrews at Francis Place in Eureka. She was 86.
The daughter of Charles Joseph and Rosemary Loos Owen, Sister Ann Marie was born on Oct. 30, 1938, in Chicago. She entered the Ursuline community on July 5, 1956, and professed her vows on Jan. 6, 1959. She earned a bachelor’s degree in history from the College of New Rochelle and a master of teaching degree in religion from Webster University.
Sister Ann Marie was known for her sharp wit and keen sense of humor in addition to her great compassion for those she served during her more than 40 years of ministry in Missouri and Illinois. Upon retirement, she referred to her ministry as a “ministry of love.”
She began her teaching ministry at St. Patrick School in Alton, Illinois, where she served from 1962-65. She taught upper grades at Corpus Christi School in Jennings from 1965-72; was principal of Blessed Sacrament School in Springfield, Illinois, from 1972-78; and was the religious education coordinator for St. Thomas Parish in Decatur, Illinois, from 1979-81. She taught at St. Rose of Lima School in De Soto from 1981-83.
She taught junior high religion at St. Peter School in Kirkwood from 1983-84 and was acting director of religion from 1984-85. She was a pastoral associate at Notre Dame de Lourdes in Wellston from 1985-92 and coordinator of services to homeless persons at St. Patrick Center from 1992-94.
In 1994, Sister Ann Marie moved to Springfield, Missouri, where she served as social minister for Sacred Heart Parish from 1994-95 and case manager for The Kitchen from 1996-2001. She was a community support worker for Burrell Behavioral Health from 2001-2009. She remained in Springfield as a volunteer until returning to St. Louis in 2020.
She is survived by a brother and sister-in-law, Charles and Maria Owen; two nephews, Charlie Owen and Patrick Owen; and a niece, Moira Owen.
