Sister Jane Schmenk, 86, of the Sisters of St. Francis in Tiffin, died Monday,
March 8, 2004, at 12:15 a.m. at St. Francis Convent, Tiffin, Ohio.
She was born January 13, 1918, in New Cleveland, Ohio, to Theresa (Meyer) and
Casper Schmenk.
Surviving are: her sisters, Teresa Warnecke of Ottawa, Ohio, and Edna Musch of
Toledo, Ohio.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her sisters, Velma Utendorf and Alvina
Ellerbrock; and her brothers, Eugene, Cletus, Nathan, and Casper.
Sister Jane taught in elementary schools in Ohio at Millersville, Edgerton, Willard,
and was both teacher and principal at St. Anthony’s Orphanage, Toledo; she taught high
school at Toledo Central Catholic and Tiffin Calvert, and at St. Francis High School in
Tiffin where she was also principal. She served as councilor and treasurer for the
congregation. She ministered on the Cherokee reservation in North Carolina.
In 1976 Sister Jane became director and administrator at the newly-opened Living
Waters Catholic Reflection Center in Maggie Valley, North Carolina, a facility of the
Charlotte Diocese, until 1998 when she retired. She then wrote Father Murphy, Apostle
of the Smokies, the life of Father Michael Murphy, a Detroit native and builder of a
number of churches and the retreat center in the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina.
In the sixties, Sister Jane began “Operation Love,” a project in which Sisters made
weekly visits to Mexican migrants in the area. She was also involved in the
congregation’s decision to minister in Chiapas, Mexico.
Among the many things Sister Jane enjoyed were playing cards, working crossword puzzles, cooking, creative writing, time with family and community members,reading, and learning new ideas, especially about God’s universe.
Sister Jane enjoyed life and had a good sense of humor, evident by a recent comment, “I have to come face to face with my physical (and mental!!!) weakness and have accepted the fact that the old grey mare isn’t what she used to be... but [she] is enjoying to some extent the destabilizing environment of the stable.”
Asked what her hopes and dreams were for the community she loved, she
responded, “... that we grow in wisdom and grace before God and share our gifts with the
world. I also dream that our numbers will increase, that our life style will attract
vocations, and that we will always be a light in the darkness of greed and hostility.”
The Funeral Mass will be March 10, 2004, 10:30 a.m. in the St. Francis Convent Chapel, 200 St. Francis Ave., Tiffin, Ohio 44883. Burial will be in St. Francis Convent Cemetery. Visitation will be March 9, 2-5 p.m, and 6-8 p.m. at St. Francis Convent Chapel. A Christian Wake Service will be 7:00 p.m. at the chapel.
Arrangements are under the direction of the Hannay-Traunero Funeral Home, 214
S. Monroe St., Tiffin, OH 44883. (419) 447-3113.