Sister Joan McMullen, OSF

February 15, 1933 - November 9, 1989

Sister Joan McMullen, a member of the School Sisters of St. Francis, died on November 9, 1989, in Pittsburgh, Pa. Formerly known as Sister Donald, She was 56 and in her 38th year of religious life.

Joan was born to Joseph William and Marie (Farley) McMullen on February, 15, 1933. She entered the community in 1950, professing first vows in 1951 and final vows in 1956. Sister held bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education from Our Lady of the Lake College in San Antonio, Texas; and a master’s degree in theology from St. Mary’s University, also in San Antonio.

From 1951 to 1960, Sister Joan taught at St. Joseph School in San Antonio, followed by seven years at our former St. Francis Academy, also in San Antonio, where she taught history, English, algebra, geometry and religion, served as assistant principal, and moderated the Student Council. Sister taught history for a year at LaRoche College in Pittsburgh, before spending five years teaching religion and history at our former Mount Assis Academy, also in Pittsburgh.

Sister was elected to the Provincial Council in 1971, serving as vicar and secretary until 1985, when she returned to the classroom in Clymer, Pa. She then went on to minister as a teacher and mission administrator in South Africa from 1986 to 1989.

Sister Joan also served our community as junior directress (1968-1973), ongoing formation directress (1981-1985), and as a member of the Constitution Revision Committee (1978-1981). She was elected as a delegate to several Provincial Chapters and General Chapters, and served as General Chapter Secretary in 1989.

Sister is remembered for her determination in all she undertook, accepting both advice and criticism with untiring effort to see projects through to success. She had great zeal for life and ministry and was always willing to try something new for the sake of Christ.

Away from her ministry life, Sister loved sports, nature, sewing, reading and music. She was particularly fond of Zamfii and the gentle sounds of the pan flute. She enjoyed camping and savored even a simple walk in the park. A compassionate listener, Sister Joan possessed a prayerful spirit and a grateful heart, often saying “The gift that you have been given, give as a gift.” She is described as a woman of vision, a risk-taker, a faith-filled Franciscan and a faithful servant.

“She was a woman of prayer,” one Sister recalled. “She prayed anywhere and everywhere, lived life to the fullest, respected everyone, and saw the good in every person. She was very intelligent but also a humble woman.  She was future-oriented but had her feet on the ground. 

As her work in South Africa was cut short by her death, the bishops, priests, deacons, Sisters, lay people and children from South Africa all felt this was one of the greatest losses to the Diocese of Witbank. “The first year Sister Joan was with us, we all thought how marvelous the “American nuns” must be and what good Communities they must have,” recalled a Sister who worked alongside her in Nelspruit. “She just smiled and said, ‘We have our difficulties too.’ We found that very consoling.” 

It is difficult to speak of Sister Joan in terms of singular virtues and traits because Sister Joan embodied goodness to a remarkable degree. To her family she was a strong central force; to her students she was a guide and inspiration; to her junior Sisters, as their Directress, she was an enabler and a spiritual leader; to those of us who knew her well, Joan was truly a woman of grace. 

“She journeyed through life with a little ‘knapsack,’ using every available means as it came along,” another Sister remembers. “Sister Joan was a real scout of the School Sisters of St. Francis.”

Sister Joan is buried in St. Francis Cemetery at Mt. Assisi Place in Pittsburgh, Pa.