South West Illinois News

Welge-Pechacek Funeral Home - Evansville issued the following announcement.

SR. ANN CONNOLLY, ASC, 91, of Adorers of the Blood of Christ, Ruma Center, Ruma, Illinois, passed away at 10:10 am, Saturday, January 12, 2019 at the Ruma Center.

She was born to the late Ernest and Catherine (nee Shannon) Connolly on May 15, 1927 in Assumption, near Pana, Illinois.

She made her first vows on July 1, 1946 and final vows on July 1, 1951. She had been professed for 72 years.

Sr. Ann’s earned her R.N. from St. John’s Hospital in Springfield, Illinois in 1949, her bachelor’s degree in Occupational Therapy from the College of St. Catherine in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1958 and her master’s in theology from Aquinas Institute in St. Louis in 1985.

Sr. Ann’s ministry as a nurse included St. Clement (now Red Bud Regional) Hospital, Red Bud, IL, St. Vincent (now Taylorville) Memorial Hospital in Taylorville, IL and the Ruma Center, Ruma, Illinois. She also worked in the Pastoral Care Department at St. Clement Hospital.

For her final 25 years in active ministry “Sis Ann”, as she was known by the people, ministered in various roles at CUP (Catholic Urban Programs), in East St. Louis, IL. In addition to dressing up as the Easter Bunny in the spring and Santa Claus in December, she did countless practical tasks – stocking shelves in the food pantry, packing boxes for clients who needed meals for their families, serving meal on the Mobile Soup Bus, helping clients stay ahead on their rent and utility bills, answering the phone, visiting seniors in nursing homes, baking cakes for special events like birthdays or graduations, and providing an endless supply of chocolate chip cookies.

Sr. Ann received the Lumen Christi award in 2004, a national award honoring outstanding missionary work in the United States. It is given by the Chicago-based Catholic Church Extension Society, an organization dedicated to sustaining and promoting missionary work in poor and remote areas of the United States.

She is survived by several cousins and members of the U.S. Region of Adorers of the Blood of

Christ. She was preceded in death by her parents and several cousins.

Mass of the Resurrection: 11:00 am, Saturday, January 26, 2019

Ruma Center Chapel, Ruma, Illinois

Inurnment: Convent Cemetery

Ruma, Illinois

Original source can be found here.

Source: Welge-Pechacek Funeral Home - Evansville