Sister Ann Walters, CSA
Sister Ann Walters, CSA, baptized Mary Loraine Walters, died peacefully on November 30, 2020, at St. Francis Home, Fond du Lac, WI.
Mary Loraine was born in Catherine, KS, on December 4, 1928, to Anthony Walters and Lidwina Polifka Walters. She was the third oldest in her family of eleven, five girls and six boys. Living through the Kansas Dust Storms with her family taught Mary the importance of working together and gathering for prayer to sustain one other. She believed that these family experiences nurtured her vocation and prepared her for life in religious community.
Feeling a deep sense of belonging to God from an early age, Sister Ann entered St. Agnes Convent in 1943 and made her first profession of vows in the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes on August 15, 1948.
Throughout her life, Sister Ann loved teaching, learning, and offering one-on-one guidance and spiritual support to people of all ages. She received a BS in Education from Marian College, Fond du Lac, WI. She taught for nineteen years in grade schools and high schools in WI, KS, IL, and IN. In 1967, she earned her MALS in Library Science from Rosary College, River Forest, IL. Sister Ann then enjoyed serving as a librarian for nine years in grade schools in IL and IN and at Beloit Catholic High School, Beloit, WI.
In 1967, desiring a more contemplative lifestyle, Sister Ann worked at the Renewal Center of the University of Steubenville, Steubenville, OH, serving as Director of Retreats and offering counseling part-time. This experience led her to pursue a Certificate of Theological Studies and Spirituality from the Jesuit School of Theology, Berkeley, CA, and an MS in Pastoral Counseling from Loyola of Maryland, Baltimore, after which she did retreat ministry at Franciscan Spirituality Center, LaCrosse, WI. Sister Ann then actively engaged in ministries of counseling, spiritual direction, and pastoral care in WI and KS for 39 years. She served in Campus Ministry at Regis University in Denver, CO, and at the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh.
Her summer ministries included directing retreats in WI at the Jesuit Retreat House, Oshkosh, St. Anthony Retreat House, Marathon, and St. Joseph Retreat House, Baileys Harbor.
In 2004, Sister Ann returned to Fond du Lac, living for a time at the CSA motherhouse, and with her sisters at Nazareth Court and Center and St. Francis Home. During this time, she volunteered in ministries of hospitality and wellness in the emergency room at St. Agnes Hospital, the Treffert Center, and St. Francis Home until frail health no longer allowed her to engage in these activities.
Sister Ann was preceded in death by her parents Anthony and Lidwina Walters, her brothers Herbert, Delbert, Marvin, Daniel and Patrick and her sisters Dolores Giebler and Sister Rose Walters, CSA.
She is survived by her brother Thomas and her sisters Catherine Perino and Nettie Kuhn-Verdi, her nieces and nephews, and the Sisters of St. Agnes, with whom she lived, prayed and ministered.
Burial took place on December 2, 2020, at St. Joseph Springs Cemetery, Fond du Lac, WI. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, a Memorial Mass for Sister Ann will be celebrated on a future date at the Nazareth Center Chapel with Father Ken Smits, Capuchin, presiding.
Memorials can be directed to the CSA Mission Advancement Office, 320 County Road K, Fond du Lac, WI 54937.
The Sisters of St. Agnes are grateful to the nurses and staff of Nazareth Court and Center, St. Francis Home, and Hospice Hope for their care of Sister Ann in her last years of life.
Zacherl Funeral Home is serving the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes