September 15, 1928 – March 24, 2025
Please pray for the repose of the soul of Sister Nancy Davis, CSJ, who died peacefully on March 24, 2025, at Carondelet Village in St. Paul.
Selfless, generous, innovative, a big, bold and inquisitive thinker, a lover of family, friends and food, are among the many words used to describe Nancy.
She was born in St. Paul on September 15, 1928, to Karl and Florence (Sheehan) Davis. This lifelong learner began her educational path by receiving a bachelor of arts in physical education with minors in education, sociology and biology from the College of St. Catherine (now University) in St. Paul in 1950. A year later, Nancy felt the strong call of the Holy Spirit to join the community of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet in St. Paul (CSJ), where she was given the name Sister Karl.
During the summers of 1964-68, Nancy earned a master of arts in religious education from Loyola
University in Chicago, where she was one of the first to attend the brand-new Institute of Pastoral Studies. This took place during Vatican II and profoundly informed and influenced the rest of her life.
Sister Nancy taught for 18 years at many CSJ-sponsored high schools. She then became the retirement coordinator and novice director for the St. Paul Province both in St. Paul and in Denver (1971-75). Nancy spent the next 25 years teaching religious education in parishes, including nine of those years in Missoula, Montana, calling it “the best part of my ministerial life. I was working with adults and loved the parish, people and the mountains.”
She retired and returned to St. Paul in 2000, where she flourished as a CSJ Wisdom Elder, inspiring many to explore the ever-evolving universe with her. Of her life as a Sister of St. Joseph, Nancy said, ”We were never promised a rose garden, but that the light and darkness are mixed together.”
Nancy is preceded in death by her parents and her brother, Richard. She is survived by many nieces,
nephews, grand- and great-grandnieces and nephews; dear friends; and the Sisters of St. Joseph of
Carondelet and Consociates.
A memorial service will be celebrated on Thursday, March 27, 2025, at 11 :00 a.m. in Our Lady of the Presentation Chapel, 1884 Randolph Avenue, St. Paul, with burial following at Resurrection Cemetery in Mendota Heights. Memorials in her honor are preferred to the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, St. Paul Province Retirement Fund.
Dear Nancy, rest in love and peace.