September 6, 1934 – September 7, 2023
Please pray for the repose of the soul of Sister Jane Ellen Kelly, who passed away on September 7, 2023, at St. Anthony’s Senior Living in Kansas City, Missouri. She was 89 years of age.
Sister Jane was born on September 6, 1934, in King City, Missouri, to James Patrick and Mary Josephine (Fisher) Kelly. She entered the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet in 1954 and was received into the novitiate in 1955 as Sister Maureen Patrick. She received a bachelor’s degree in nursing education from the College of St. Catherinein St. Paul in 1959.
Sister Jane’s ministry of providing compassionate care to the dear neighbor began in the 1960s when she was a nurse in Kansas City at St. Joseph Hospital and the nursing supervisor at St. Joseph Hospital in Kirkwood, Missouri.
Returning to Kansas City, she served at St. Joseph Hospital first as a nurse supervisor and then as a pastoral care visitor and staff nurse. Sister Jane was also a staff nurse in 1971 at the V.A. Hospital in Seattle.
Sister Jane went to Alabama in the 1970s. She was the nursing service director and supervisor at Good Samaritan Hospital in Selma and a nurse at Lowndes County Health Service Association.
Returning to Alabama in 1980, she began her ministry as a nurse practitioner at the new Grace Busse Rural Clinic in Pine Apple, one of numerous clinics established by the Edmondite Fathers to provide accessible health care to the predominantly poor African-American community in rural Alabama.
Then, Sister Jane served in leadership in her St. Louis Province community as regional superior and provincial councilor from 1984-88.
In 1988, Sister Jane returned to Alabama at the clinic in Pine Apple where she served as a nurse practitioner until the end of 2016. Sister Jane was dedicated to her work and the people of Pine Apple. Sister Jane’s ministry can be summed up by saying that a grateful patient once told her,” You are the first person who actually laid hands on me.”
From 2017-2022, Sister Jane continued providing care for people by serving as a volunteer at HealthLink Doc on the Spot.
In 2022, she moved into St. Anthony Senior Living in Kansas City where she carried out her mission of prayer and presence.
The funeral Mass for Sister Jane will be held Friday, September 15 at 4 p.m. at St. Peter’s Catholic Church, 815 E. Meyer Blvd., Kansas City, Missouri 64131. The service will be livestreamed at https://www.youtube.com/@StPetersKC.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, St. Louis Province, 6400 Minnesota Ave., St. Louis, MO 63111-2899 or donate online.