Sr. Mary Jo Keane

Sister Mary Jo Keane, BVM, (Martin Mary), 88, of Mount Carmel Bluffs, 1040 Carmel Drive, Dubuque, Iowa, died Friday, April 28, 2023, at MercyOne Dubuque Medical Center.

Visitation will be from 9-9:30 a.m. on Friday, May 5, 2023, in the Mary Frances Clarke Chapel at Mount Carmel Bluffs. Sharing of Memories will be at 9:30 a.m., followed immediately by the Mass of Christian Burial. Burial is in the Mount Carmel Cemetery.

Sister Mary Jo was a high school teacher in Chicago, St. Louis, and Burbank, Calif. She ministered as a social worker in the Chicago Public Schools. She served the congregation as office staff in Dubuque, Iowa, and office manager in Los Gatos, Calif.

She was born Sept. 6, 1934, in Chicago to Martin and Catherine (Rowland) Keane. She entered the BVM congregation Aug. 2, 1959, from Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, Chicago. She professed first vows on Feb. 2, 1962, and final vows on July 16, 1967.

She was preceded in death by her parents, stepfather Thomas Hoban, sister Patricia (Harold “Bing”) Carlson, and brother-in-law George Wendell. She is survived by a sister Catherine “Kay” Wendell, Scottsdale, Ariz.; nieces; nephews; and the Sisters of Charity, BVM, with whom she shared life for 63 years.

Memorials may be given to Sisters of Charity, BVM, 1100 Carmel Drive, Dubuque, IA 52003 or online at https://www.bvmsisters.org/support_donate.cfm.

Leonard Funeral Home and Crematory, 2595 Rockdale Rd, Dubuque, Iowa 52003 is in charge of arrangements.

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