Sister Joan Ann Koliss, OSF, died in Roxborough Memorial Hospital in Philadelphia on July 12. She was 80 years old and had been a professed member of the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia for 59 years.
She entered the congregation in 1960 and earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Neumann University, a master’s degree in religious studies from Saint Michael’s College, and a master’s in spirituality from Creighton University. Sister Joan ministered primarily in education and pastoral and social services. She was certified in spiritual direction. In 2006, she was awarded the Granite State Award from the New Hampshire Council of the Knights of Columbus for her outreach work.
In the Diocese of Harrisburg, Sister Joan taught for two years at St. Mary’s School in York. She also ministered in the Archdioceses of Philadelphia and Washington, the Dioceses of Trenton, Camden and Wilmington, and in New Hampshire. Since 2019, she had served in prayer and hospitality ministry in Assisi House in Aston, Pa., where she lived at the time of her death.
All services will be held in Assisi House in Aston on July 19 and will be livestreamed at https://livestream.com/accounts/18363082/srjoankoliss. A Christian Wake Service will be held at 9:30 a.m., followed by viewing. Mass of Christian Burial will be at 11 a.m., with burial in Our Lady of Angels Cemetery, Aston.
Donations in Sister Joan’s name can be made to the Sisters of St. Francis Foundation, 609 S. Convent Road, Aston, PA 19014.
