A funeral Mass for Sister Virginia Anne Fannin, CSJ, was celebrated Jan. 28 at Nazareth Living Center in south St. Louis County. Sister Virginia Anne died Jan. 14 at Nazareth Living Center. She was 96.
Sister Virginia Anne, baptized Mary Patricia, was born on Aug. 7, 1929, in Chicago to parents Virgil and Anna Theresa (Burns) Fannin. She entered the Sisters of St. Joseph on Sept. 15, 1948, and made her final profession on Aug. 15, 1956.
She received a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Fontbonne College in St. Louis in 1957.
Sister Virginia Anne spent her first 19 years of ministry work in education. She began teaching at St. Mary School in St. Louis from 1951-57. She taught elementary education for the next nine years in Hawaii at St. Joseph School in Waipahu (1957-59), Christ the King School in Maui (1959-60, 1965-66), St. Anthony School in Kailua (1960-62) and St. Theresa School in Honolulu (1962-65).
For the next two years, she taught in Illinois at St. Viator School in Chicago (1966-67) and St. Cecilia School in Peoria (1967-68). The following year, she taught at St. Matthew School in Mobile, Alabama. In 1969, Sister Virginia lived in Kansas City, Missouri, where she worked at St. Joseph Hospital as a clerical worker for two years and then was a student at Research Medical Hospital for a year. She went on to serve the next six years as a medical records technician at St. Joseph Community Hospital in Hancock, Michigan (1972-76) and St. Joseph Hospital in Kansas City (1976-78).
Sister Virginia returned to Chicago in 1978 and was a receptionist at DePaul University until 1979. She spent the next 21 years in service at St. Viator School/Parish as a religious education instructor (1979-92), librarian (1970-98) and parish sacristan (1996-2000).
Throughout her years as a teacher, wherever she taught in the schools, Sister Virginia was also a teacher in the Parish School of Religion.
From 2000-03, she served at the Nativity of Our Lord in Chicago as a receptionist and a volunteer librarian/tutor.
Sister Virginia moved to Nazareth Living Center in 2003 to serve as a sacristan and later retired there, where she carried out her ministry of prayer and presence.
