A private funeral Mass for Sister Florence Norton was celebrated April 8 in St. Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana. Sister Florence, a Sister of Providence, died April 2 in Mother Theodore Hall in St. Mary-of-the-Woods. She was 94 years old.
Born in Chicago, she was baptized Florence Theresa. She entered the Congregation of the Sisters of Providence on Jan. 10, 1944, and was given the name Sister Thomas Ann. She professed final vows Aug. 15, 1951. She earned a bachelor’s degree from St. Mary-of-the-Woods College and a master’s degree from Saint Louis University.
Of her 77 years as a Sister of Providence, she ministered in education for the first 24 years in schools in Indiana, Illinois and Missouri. In the Archdiocese of St. Louis, she served at Our Lady of Providence School as a teacher (1955-62) and as a teacher/principal (1962-68).
In 1968, she volunteered to join the Sisters of Providence who were ministering at Colegio San Jose in Arequipa, Peru. Having taught there for seven years, she returned to the United States and taught for another eight years in Chicago. In 1982, she moved from teaching to parish work in Chicago. In 2010, Sister Florence moved to the motherhouse where she volunteered in a variety of areas, including Providence Food Pantry, Helping Hands and the Shrine of Mother Theodore. She also was an ESL tutor. Beginning in 2019, she committed herself totally to the ministry of prayer.
Burial was in the cemetery of the Sisters of Providence.
