A funeral Mass for Sister Mary Linda Jansen, SSND, was celebrated Sept. 29 at The Sarah Community Marian Chapel in Bridgeton. Sister Linda, 84, died on Sept. 24 at Mercy South Hospital in St. Louis.
The oldest of 13 children was born to Theodolinda (Voss) and August Jansen on Nov. 25, 1941, in Breese, Illinois. She was baptized the next day at St. Dominic Church and named Pauline Clara. She lived with her paternal grandparents and a bachelor uncle on the family farm with the ever-growing family.
Pauline attended St. Dominic Grade School and Mater Dei High School, staffed by the School Sisters of Notre Dame. Already in grade school, she had a desire to become a religious sister like her teachers. However, she remained at home until after high school graduation to assist her parents with their many responsibilities.
She entered the candidature at Sancta Maria in Ripa in St. Louis on Aug. 27, 1959. She was received into the novitiate on July 30, 1960, and given the name Mary Linda, a form of her mother’s name. She professed first vows on July 31, 1961, and final vows on July 29, 1966.
Sister Linda earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the former Notre Dame College in St. Louis in 1963; a master’s degree in business education from the State College of Arkansas in Conway, Arkansas, in 1972; and a master’s degree in administration from Southeast Missouri University in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, in 1974.
Sister Linda ministered in secondary education for 30 years. She taught business education at St. Francis Borgia Regional High School in Washington (1963-72, 1987-2001). She was chosen as Teacher of the Year in 1993-94 and again in 1999-2000. She was also principal at St. Francis Borgia (1972-76). In 2001, the computer science laboratory was named in her honor. She taught at Duchesne High School in St. Charles (1976-77) and was then principal at Duchesne (1977-79.)
Sister Linda also provided provincial service for the former St. Louis Province. From 1979-87, she served as secretary to the provincial council. From 2001-11, she was treasurer for the former St. Louis Province. With the formation of the SSND Central Pacific Province in 2011, she became the assistant treasurer for the St. Louis area. During these years she met the challenges of the changes required in the finance area. She readily gave her all as she ministered in this extremely important position of service to the sisters of the province.
In 2017, she performed volunteer services at Theresa Center at Sancta Maria in Ripa. The following year, she began her ministry as a volunteer in the Resource Development Office. In 2024, she became the sister donor representative.
Throughout her life, Sister Linda used the gifts and talents that God had given her and shared them very generously with the many people she contacted. She was very adaptable to the many challenges of the various ministries in which she served during her years of religious life. She was an excellent educator — very caring and supportive of the students, their parents and staff. She readily made friends and retained contact with them. She was fun-loving and enjoyed dancing and playing card games. She was welcoming to visitors and eager to share with them. She was willing to do anything asked of her. For many years, she obtained free tickets for sisters to attend the Muny Opera productions. She was an ardent fan of the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team.
Sister Linda was preceded in death by her parents, Theodolinda and August Jansen; her brothers Daniel, Gerard, Leroy and August Jr.; and her brother-in-law Chris Williams. She is survived by her brothers Virgil (Diane) of Germantown, Illinois; Patrick (Gay) of Breese, Illinois; Philip of Appling, Georgia; Tim (Melissa) of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina; her sisters, Judith (Arnold) Huelsmann of Trenton, Illinois; Helen Jansen of St. Louis; Mary Jane Williams of Independence, Missouri; Susan (Dennis) Wagner of Fairview Heights, Illinois; sister in-law Lou Jansen of Carlyle, Illinois; classmates, friends, sisters in Community and SSND Associates.
Burial was in the Sancta Maria in Ripa cemetery.
