Obituary: Mary Jane Rhodes, SCN, 93
Mary Jane Rhodes, SCN, 93, died Sept. 10, 2024, at Nazareth. She was the formerly Sister Joseph Francis. She born Nov. 16, 1930 in Akron, Ohio, to Mary Anne and Joseph Lancaster Rhodes Sr. She was a professed Sister of Charity of Nazareth for 73 years.
She was born an identical twin to Catholic parents from farm families in Kentucky and Indiana during the Depression. In 1935, the family returned to St. Columba’s West End Parish in Louisville where her maternal grandparents and aunts resided. They later moved to Shively. She graduated from Presentation Academy where she enjoyed academics and sports.
She joined the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth after graduation and made her profession on March 25, 1951. Her twin sister, the late Anna Marie Rhodes, SCN, also entered the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in math from Catholic University in Washington, D.C., in 1965. She later earned a master’s degree in religious education from La Salle College in Philadelphia.
For many years, she served in the education ministry. She taught grade school at St. Mary Cathedral School in Covington from 1951 to 1962. She also served as a high school math and religion teacher at Cathedral Central in Richmond, Va., Archbishop Williams High School in Braintree, Mass., Presentation Academy in Louisville, and Bethlehem High School in Bardstown.
She served her SCN Community as a volunteer at Nazareth Home in Louisville for many years. She also assisted in the administrative offices at Nazareth.
She is survived by one sister, Shirley Ann Patterson; one brother, Joseph L. Rhodes Jr.; her extended family, and her religious community, the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth.
The funeral Mass is 10:30 a.m. Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, at St. Vincent de Paul Church at Nazareth followed by burial in the Nazareth Cemetery.
The wake is 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, at the church.
Memorial donations may go to the Office of Mission Advancement, P.O. Box 9, Nazareth, KY 40048.
The Houghlin-Greenwell Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
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