Sister Elizabeth Jean Siebenaler

Sister Elizabeth Jean Siebenaler (Sister Mary Leo) of the Sisters of St. Francis of Tiffin, Ohio, died at 8:30 p.m. Saturday, April 22, 2023, at St. Francis Home.  

She was born May 21, 1926, in Blakeslee, Ohio, to Herbert and Clara Nye Siebenaler.  

She was preceded in death by three sisters, Margaret (Ralph) McDonald, Sister Agnes Siebenaler, and Eleanore Duffley; and four brothers, Albert (Eulalah) Siebenaler, Vincent (Arlene) Siebenaler, Cyril (Marie, Joyce) Siebenaler, and Lawrence (Iris) Siebenaler. 

Sister Elizabeth Jean served as infirmarian at St. Francis Convent and at St. Anthony Orphanage in Toledo.  Sister was in charge of nursing services at Lourdes Hospital in Paducah, Kentucky, then served as a missionary in Chiapas, Mexico.  She served as a nurse at the Guadalupe  Center in Toledo, Ohio, and in the East Coast Migrant Project in Vineland, New Jersey, and Belle Glade, Florida.  She served on the Leadership Team of the Sisters of St. Francis for eight years, and then returned as staff nurse in migrant clinics in Lake Wales and Immakalee, Florida.  She was elected again to community leadership for four years and then retired as a minister of service in Toledo, Ohio.

Sister Elizabeth Jean was always known for her warm, welcoming hospitality. Her heart was bent on concern for the poor and was always engaged in efforts for peace and justice. 

In August, she would have celebrated her 80th anniversary as a Sister of St. Francis.

Visitation will be Wednesday, April 26, 2023, from 9:30 am until time of the Funeral Mass at 10:30 am, in St. Francis Convent Chapel.  Burial will follow in St. Francis Convent Cemetery.
    
A Christian Wake Service will be held via Zoom on Tuesday, April 25 at 7:00 p.m.

Memorials can be made to St. Francis Convent or St. Francis Home.

Arrangements are under the direction of the Traunero Funeral Home, 214 S. Monroe St., Tiffin, OH 44883. (419) 447-3113. Online condolences may be posted at www.traunerofuneralhome.com.

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