Obituary: Sister Johnetta Maher, OSB

Sister Johnetta Maher, OSB, lived a long and joyful life of service, dying on March 30, 2025, at age 102.  She born in 1922 to John Stephen and Mayme (Grondine) Maher and baptized as Genevieve.  She grew up in Watersmeet, a small town in the western Upper Peninsula of Michigan and remembered picking wild berries with her brother John and sisters Patricia, Margaret, and Frances.  Strawberries were her lifelong favorite.  Her father worked for the railroad, which allowed her family to travel free to Green Bay and Chicago, visit family and friends, attend the 1933 Chicago World Fair, and get a taste of the larger world.

Genevieve’s high school home economics teacher inspired her to consider a career in the same field.  When she was a senior, Sisters Prudentia Morin and Monica Simon visited her school as recruiters for The College of St. Scholastica (CSS).  They came to Genevieve’s home to meet her family, and she recalled her embarrassment because the front porch was being rebuilt and the Sisters had to ‘walk the plank’ to enter the front door.  Her family greeted the Sisters warmly and invited them to stay with the Mahers whenever they were in tow, and they became honored members of the family.

In 1940 Genevieve enrolled at CSS and majored in Home Economics.  Drawn to the Benedictine way of life, and with a firm foundation in her faith from her parents, she entered the Community in her sophomore year and took the name Johnetta.  She did her student teaching at Stanbrook Hall, the Community’s high school, and continued teaching there for five years after graduation.  She then taught at the original Cathedral High for 15 years, while studying during the summer at St. Louis University in Missouri for her MA in Education.  In 1964 she helped organize the home economics department at the new Cathedral High, now Marshall School.

With years of practical experience as a teacher, she joined the faculty of her alma mater as an associate professor in Home Economics and became Chair of the Behavioral Arts and Sciences Division.  When the state legislature mandated the establishment of standards for teachers in the Early Childhood Family Education programs, Sister Johnetta developed three new courses for teacher education and submitted the plan to the State Board of Teaching.  The College of St. Scholastica was the first in Minnesota to receive state certification of its program, and Sister received the Burlington Northern Education Award for her work.

Sister Johnetta enjoyed traveling and visited Ireland (twice), Paris, London, and Rome.  Her most unusual trip was a six-day round voyage with her friend +Sister Benita Hayden on a Great Lakes freighter from Duluth to Chicago, as guests of Sister Benita’s brother, the laker’s engineer. She recalled ringing the boat’s bell when passing under bridges.

After retiring from teaching in 1998, Sister Johnetta cared for the artwork, fine furniture, and artifacts in the Monastery’s Heritage Room, some of which had once graced College parlors where guests were entertained.  The parlors had been converted to offices and meeting rooms, but for Sister Johnetta each item told a story of a gracious way of living and warm hospitality.  Shortly before she let this ministry go, she said, “These things have given me joy over the years, but they were meant to be used.  I think it is time for them to bring joy to others.”  A few years later, some of the furniture and artwork was used in the restoration of the parlors, and the rest were sold to people who appreciated their history and beauty.

As coordinator for events at the Monastery’s dining room from 1997 to 2005, Sister Johnetta maintained high standards in table setting and service, teaching new postulants the proper way to pour tea and coffee.  Always working, she crocheted baby afghans and her famous yarn cats, favorites at the Community’s Christmas bazaar.

Sister Johnetta will be remembered for her radiant smile and her deep love for God and ministry. She took great joy in beauty, including the amaryllis she received from her family at Christmas, which she would set on her walker and bring it around to share her joy.

She was preceded in death by parents John Stephen and Mayme (Grondine) Maher, brother John, and sisters Patricia (James) Vidmar and Margaret Maher. She is survived by sister Frances Kessel, cherished nephews and nieces, many friends, and her Benedictine Sisters. Wake (9:45 am) and funeral Mass (11:00 am) were held on Thursday, April 10, in Our Lady Queen of Peace Chapel at the Monastery, with Father Corbin Eddy presiding. Ceremonies livestreamed beginning at 9:45 a.m. https://shorturl.at/8gy4W.  Interment in Gethsemane Cemetery. Arrangements by Dougherty Funeral Home.