- July 9, 2019 Obituaries
August 21, 1943 – July 6, 2019
Please pray for the repose of the soul of Sister Adele Marie Rothan, who passed away on July 6 at Nazareth Living Center in St. Louis, Missouri. She was 75.
Sister Adele Marie, baptized Mary Jo, was born on August 21, 1943, in Peoria, Illinois, to parents Wilbur Louis and Josephine (Howeler) Rothan. She entered the Sisters of St. Joseph on September 15, 1961, and made her final profession on August 6, 1969.
She receive a bachelor’s degree in mathematics/music from Fontbonne College in 1969; a master’s degree in mathematics from the University of Illinois Champaign in 1971; and a doctorate in mathematical statistics/computer science from the University of Montana in 1982.
Sister Adele served in education nearly 48 years. She began teaching grade school in 1966 at St. Joseph Grade School in West De Pere, Wisconsin. The next year, she taught at St. Mary Magdalen Grade School in St. Louis. From 1968 to 1970, she taught high school at St. Thomas Aquinas in Florissant, Missouri.
After obtaining her master’s in mathematics, Sister Adele transitioned to teaching in higher education. Beginning in 1971, she taught for six years at Fontbonne College. She earned her doctorate in 1982 and began teaching at Avila College that same year until 1985. She then moved to St. Paul, Minnesota, to teach mathematics at the College of St. Catherine, where she remained for the next 25 years.
Sister Adele retired to St. Louis in 2013 and served her CSJ community for the next five years as a part-time archival aide for the St. Louis province. Since 2018, she had been living at Nazareth Living Center, carrying out her ministry of prayer and presence.
In addition, two one-year sabbaticals (1994-1995 and 2003-2004) permitted Sister Adele the time to publish, take a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and participate in a medical mission to Haiti with FOTCOH (Friends of the Children of Haiti).
A Memorial Mass will be held Monday, July 15 at 10 a.m. at Nazareth Living Center, 2 Nazareth Lane, St. Louis, MO 63129.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, St. Louis Province, 6400 Minnesota Ave., St. Louis, MO 63111-2899 (donate online). Or to Friends of the Children of Haiti (FOTCOH) P. O. Box 789, Peoria, IL 61652.