Sister Mary Joanita Walsh

Sister Mary Joanita was born Ellen Catherine Walsh on Nov. 24, 1908. She died on Sept. 1, 2008. She was 99 years old and had been a Sister of Providence for 76 years.

Sister Mary Joanita entered the Congregation on Aug. 22, 1931. She professed first vows on Feb. 27, 1934, and final vows on Aug. 15, 1939.

Her teaching ministry began in 1934 at St. Agnes Academy, Indianapolis. She taught at other schools in Indiana, as well as schools in Illinois and Oklahoma. In 1970, she began a ministry of service to Mother Theodore Guerin High School, River Grove, Illinois. She returned home to the Woods in 1993.

She was described as one of the “gentle giants” of the Congregation.