Sister Jean Vianney Mindak, CSJ
75th Jubilee
Sister Jean Vianney Mindak, baptized Dorothy, was born in St. Louis. She entered the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet in 1949 and was received into the novitiate in 1950. She earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Fontbonne College (now University) in St. Louis in 1957, and a master’s degree in elementary education administration from St. Louis University in 1974.
Beginning in 1952, Sister Jean Vianney taught at Holy Name Grade School in St. Louis for six years. In 1958, she moved to Hawaii teaching at St. Joseph Grade School in Waipahu, Oahu (1958-64) and serving as teacher and principal at St. Therese Grade School in Honolulu (1964-1968). She then returned to the States and was principal and teacher at Saints John & James Grade School in Ferguson, Missouri, for a year.
From 1969 until 1974, Sister Jean Vianney was the principal at St. James Grade School in Denver, Colorado. From there, she continued her work in education, teaching at the Village of St. Joseph in Atlanta, Georgia (1974); St. Thomas the Apostle Grade School in Florissant, Missouri (1974-1975); and St. Catherine of Siena Grade School in Denver (1975-1977).
Sister Jean Vianney served her CSJ community the following two years as a staff member in the St. Louis Province Treasurer’s Office. From 1979 to 1983, she was the elementary education director for the Catholic Education Office of the St. Louis Archdiocese. Then, she served as associate professor of education at Fontbonne University until 1990.
Returning to Colorado in 1990, Sister Jean Vianney was the chair of the Department of Developmental Studies for Parks Junior College in Denver for two years. In 1992, she began her work at Red Rock Community College in Lakewood, Colorado where she served as the director of the adult literacy program (1992-1995) and the corporate trainer/curriculum designer (1995-1998). She then spent nearly four years as the alliance coordinator at the Community College of Denver.
She retired in Denver in 2002 and continued to provide volunteer work throughout the area. Since 2024, she has resided at Nazareth Living Center in St. Louis where she carries out her mission of prayer and presence.
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