RELIGIOUS NAME: Sister Joan Kirkpatrick
AGE: 92
BAPTISMAL NAME: Joan Claire
FORMER RELIGIOUS NAME: Sister Joan Patrice
DATE AND PLACE OF BIRTH: June 1, 1933 in Walsenburg, CO
FATHER: John B. Kirkpatrick
MOTHER: Claire Adele Steinbruner
PARISH – SP ENTRY: Our Lady of Angels, Hillsborough, CA
EDUCATION:
Grade School: St. Mary,CO/Our Lady of Angels,Hillsborough,CA/
St. Catherine, Burlingame,CA
High School: Mercy HS, Burlingame,CA, CF Bush, South Euclid,OH
College: St. Mary-of-the-Woods College, BA Mathematics
University of Notre Dame, MA Administration
Santa Clara University, MA Counseling Psy
ENTRANCE: 07-22-1956
PROFESSION: 01-23-1959
FINAL VOWS: 01-23-1964
DATE OF DEATH: 07-09-2025 | TIME: 10:52 a.m. | PLACE: Lourdes Hall
WAKE: 07-15-2025 beginning at 2:30 with Wake Service in 4:30 in the Church of the Immaculate Conception
MASS OF CHRISTIAN BURIAL: 07-16-2026 at 11:00 a.m. with Reverend Terry Johnson presiding
PLACE OF BURIAL: Cemetery of Sisters of Providence
St. Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana
FUNERAL DIRECTOR: The DeBaun Funeral Homes and Crematory, Terre Haute, IN
SURVIVING FAMILY:
BROTHER: Rob Kirkpatrick of St. George, UT
SISTER: Lynn Poole of Bend, OR
DECEASED BROTHER: Jack Kirkpatrick
OBITUARY NOTICE
NAME: Sister Joan Kirkpatrick AGE: 92
PARISH/ TOWN: St. Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana
Submitted by Sister Rosemary Schmalz
Sister Joan Kirkpatrick died on July 9 in Lourdes Hall, St. Mary-of-the-Woods. She was born on June 1, 1933 in Walsenburg, CO to John and Claire Steinbruner Kirkpatrick and was baptized Joan Claire.
Sister Joan entered the Congregation of the Sisters of Providence on Jul. 22, 1956 and received the name Sister Joan Patrice. She professed Final Vows on Aug. 15, 1964. She earned a bachelor’s degree from St.Mary-of-the-Woods College and master’s degrees from Notre Dame University and Santa Clara University. Of her 69 years as a Sister of Providence, she ministered in education for 18 years in Indiana, Illinois and California, teaching mathematics and also serving as the business officer for several years at Marywood High School in California. In 1974, she was asked to come to the Motherhouse to serve as treasurer of the Sacred Heart Province and manage the motherhouse operations. After eight years in this ministry, she returned to California where she continued serving in a business capacity at several institutions.
Having earned a master’s degree in counseling, she did a five-year psychotherapist internship in California and then returned to Indiana where she served for five years as a counselor at Providence Self-Sufficiency Ministries in New Albany, a sponsored institution of the Congregation. In 2004, she returned to the motherhouse and served with the Ministry of Care team that tended to the needs of the sisters in health care. She retired in 2021 and dedicated herself to the ministry of prayer a year later.
Sister Joan was a gracious, gentle woman with a keen sense of humor. Her deep spirituality was expressed in love for her sisters, for those she served, and for nature in general, but her pets especially. She is survived by a sister, Lynn Poole, of Bend, OR, and brother, Rob Kirkpatrick, of St. George, Ut. She is preceded in death by a brother, Jack Kirkpatrick. The wake is on Tuesday, July 15, from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the Church of the Immaculate Conception with the Wake Service at 4:30 p.m. The Mass of Christian Burial is on Wednesday, July 16, at 11:00 a.m. with Reverend Terry Johnson presiding. Burial is in the cemetery of the Sisters of Providence. The DeBaun Funeral Homes and Crematory assisted with arrangements. Memorial contributions may be made to the Sisters of Providence, 1 Sisters of Providence, St. Mary-of-the-Woods, IN 47876-1007.
INDIANA
Providence Aspirancy, SMW, 1959-61; Sacred Heart Province, SMW, (provincial treasurer) 1974-82; Providence Self Sufficiency Ministries, New Albany, (counselor) 1998-2003; Ministry of Care, SMW, (assistant) 2004-21.
CALIFORNIA
Marywood HS, Orange, (teacher) 1964-69, (teacher, provincial treasurer)) 1969-73, (business office, provincial treasurer) 1973-74; Notre Dame HS, Riverside, (business officer) (Provincial Councilor) 1983-86; Santa Marguarita, Rancho Santa Margarita, (business officer) 1987-90; Diocese of San Francisco, San Francisco, (tribunal secretary) 1990-91; Adult & Child Guidance Center, San Jose, (psychotherapist intern) 1994-96, Associated Counselors, San Jose, (psychotherapist intern) 1996-98.
ILLINOIS
Providence HS, Chicago, (teacher) 1961-64.