- May 13, 2020 Obituaries
(S. Maria Giovanni)
October 20, 1925 – May 13, 2020
Please pray for the repose of the soul of Sister Justine Ostini who passed away on May 13, 2020, at Nazareth Living Center in St. Louis, Missouri. She was 94 years of age.
Sister Justine Ostini was born on October 20, 1925, in Mobile, Alabama, to parents John B. and Antoinette (Jackson) Ostini. She entered the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet on September 15, 1945, and was received into the novitiate on March 19, 1946, as Sister Maria Giovanni. She earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Fontbonne College in 1981.
For much of her 60 years of active ministry, Sister Justine served in education at various grade schools around the country.
In the early days of her ministry, Sister Justine was a child care worker at St. Joseph Carondelet Child Center in Chicago, Illinois. She then taught at Most Holy Rosary and at St. Teresa of Avila Grade Schools in St. Louis.
From 1951 to 1962, she taught at a number of grade schools: St. Viator in Chicago; St. Matthew in Mobile; and St. Leo in St. Louis.
In the 1960s, she taught at St. Thomas the Apostle in Florissant, Missouri; St. Mary Magdalene in St. Louis; and Our Lady of the Americas in Kansas City, Missouri. In the early 1970s, she taught at St. Matthew and Little Flower Grade Schools in Mobile, Alabama.
From 1975 to 1980, she was the dorm unit supervisor for the Village of St. Joseph in Atlanta, Georgia. For a brief time, she worked at the Sisters of St. Joseph Provincial House in St. Louis as a mailroom assistant. In 1981, she returned to education, teaching in Edwardsville, Illinois, until 1987.
For the next 20 years, she lived and served in Georgia, dedicating herself to the students at St. John the Evangelist Grade School in Valdosta.
Sister Justine retired in 2007 and remained in Valdosta serving in volunteer ministry until 2019. She then moved to Nazareth Living Center and carried out her ministry of prayer and presence.
Funeral arrangements are pending.
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.