BRIDGETON, Mo. — Sr. Mary Jo Kahl, FSM, a Franciscan Sister of Mary for 63 years, died August 5 at The Sarah Community in Bridgeton, Mo. She was 79.
Mary Josephine Kahl was born June 24, 1939, in Madison, Wis., the daughter of Bernard G. and Grace M. (Hartel) Kahl. She entered the Sisters of St. Mary August 10, 1955; she received the name Sr. Mary Ann Grace, and she professed final vows February 11, 1964.
She earned her bachelor’s degree in dietetics, her master’s degree in education, her bachelor’s in nursing, and her master’s in nursing, all through Saint Louis University. She was certified as a gerontological certified nurse specialist in 1991. In the Diocese of Madison, she was a nurse at the Veteran’s Administration Medical Center in Madison, while she cared for her parents.
From 1991 to 1994, she served at Elder Care-Dane County in Madison, then served as charge nurse at St. Mary’s Care Center in Madison (1994-1996). She was a nurse at St. Mary’s Hospital in Madison. She was preceded in death by her parents and two sisters. She is survived by a sister, Mrs. Margaret Skolaski of Madison, and a brother, Ben Kahl, of Redditt, Ontario, Canada.
She donated her body to Saint Louis University School of Medicine.
A memorial Mass was held on August 14 in the chapel at The Sarah Community.