Rose Philippine Hoormann, CSJ
November 22, 1931 - April 4, 2025
Dedicated, hardworking, generous
Anthony and Elizabeth (Derhake) Hoormann of Florissant, Missouri, welcomed a daughter, Elizabeth Helen Mary, on November 22, 1931. Their complete family consisted of four sons and two daughters. All the children attended Sacred Heart Grade School, where they were taught by the Sisters of the Precious Blood. There was no high school near enough for the children to attend. Elizabeth thought about entering a religious community, but her parents felt she was too young, and her help was needed at home.
Elizabeth had been reading magazines about religious communities and then found an article in the St. Louis Register about a Sister of
St. Joseph who had been sent as a missionary to Hawai'i. The possibility of being a missionary caught her interest. She wrote a letter to the address listed in the article indicating she was interested. Mother Vivian Curtain, the director of novices, invited her to visit. She and her parents drove from Florissant down to Carondelet, where she met her first Sisters of St. Joseph. A short time later, Elizabeth got a letter from Mother Vivian, asking, “Are you interested? Are you planning on coming?”
Sister Rose entered the community on September 15, 1947, at the ripe age of 15. In 1950, she began her first assignment as a cook at Nazareth Convent. After two years, she continued as a cook in Keshena, Wisconsin. She returned to St. Louis a year later to serve as the dining room manager at the motherhouse.
In 1954, S. Rose was sent to finish her high school education at the Academy of Our Lady/Spalding in Peoria, Illinois. She went on to complete her schooling at Fontbonne College (now known as Fontbonne University), where she earned a bachelor’s degree in dietetics in 1959. After a year-long internship at Good Samaritan Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio, she began her 26-year ministry as a registered dietitian. S. Rose ministered as a dietitian at St. Joseph Hospital (now St. Joseph Medical Center) in Kansas City, Missouri (1960-63); St. Joseph Hospital in Augusta, Georgia (1963-73); and St. Joseph Hospital (now SSM Health St. Clare Hospital in Fenton, Missouri) in Kirkwood, Missouri (1973-86).
In 1986, S. Rose decided she needed a change in ministry and studied to become a nurse assistant at St. Joseph Hospital in Kirkwood. She was involved in community service until 1999, when she accepted a position as an assistant administrator at St. Joseph’s Academy. In 2001, she was part of the administrative staff until 2003, when she was needed in family care and also volunteered whenever she was available. She retired at Nazareth Living Center to join the ministry of prayer and presence in 2009.
MEMORIES
From Sister Rose McLarney
I knew Sister Rose Philippine when I went to my first mission in Augusta, Georgia. We called S. Rose “cookie" because she was in charge of food service and there were four S. Roses living at the convent at that time.
What stood out for me was her being so attentive to each individual. When she went to work in the morning, she did not go directly to her office but went to each individual person at their workstation and spoke to them. As a brand new sister, I was very impressed by this.”
by Sister Helen Oates