Sister Jeanne (Mary Jeanne) Parrish, DC, died Jan. 29 at Seton Residence in Evansville, Indiana. She was 99 years old. A funeral Mass for Sister Jeanne was celebrated Feb. 2 at the Seton Residence chapel.
Sister Jeanne was born on Sept. 28, 1924, in Nashville, one of six children of Charles Lee and Marguerite (Martin) Parrish. After graduating from Cathedral High School in Nashville, she entered the Daughters of Charity in St. Louis in 1943.
After initial formation, Sister Jeanne was sent to teach at St. Stephen Grade School in New Orleans. She then returned to St. Louis to serve as sister-in-office in the Seminary of Marillac Provincial House. She received a bachelor’s degree in math from Fontbonne College in St. Louis (1951) and a master’s of education in guidance (1956) and master’s degree in psychology from Saint Louis University. Sister Jeanne also studied at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Kenrick Seminary in Shrewsbury and Aquinas Institute in St. Louis.
In St. Louis, she served as a teacher, guidance counselor and principal at Laboure High School and coordinator of Our Lady of Grace Child Care Center. She also was a teacher at St. Vincent de Paul Grade School in San Francisco and an administrator of Marillac School and Residence in Kansas City, Missouri. She then served on the Provincial Council in St. Louis.
After completing studies at Aquinas Institute in Dubuque, Iowa, Sister Jeanne served as a counselor at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in St. Louis from 1981-94. She then began her full-time ministry in spiritual direction and retreats in St. Louis. In 2008, she moved to Seton Residence in Evansville, where she served in the ministry of prayer until the time of her death.
Sister Jeanne was preceded in death by her parents; her sisters Anna Clare Thorton and Marguerite Etta McGrath; and her brothers, Donald and Raymond Parrish. She is survived by her sister Charlotte (William) Norris, nieces and nephews, her Sisters in Community and many friends.
Burial was in St. Joseph Cemetery in Evansville.