Sr. Virginia Ann Streit, age 97 of the Sisters of St. Francis in Oldenburg, died Sunday, July 28, 2019 at the convnet, the day of her 80th Jubilee. Born November 20, 1921 in North Vernon, Indiana, she is the daughter of Anna Catherine (Ley) and Frank Streit, the fourth of six children.
Sr. Virginia Ann once shared, “At age 16, I was looking at a picture of the ‘Agony in the Garden’ which hung on a wall in our home. In the picture an angel was comforting Christ. I decided then that I wanted to help people by following Christ in religious life.”
Following graduation from Immaculate Conception Academy in Oldenburg, she went on to graduate from Marian University, and began her 44-year teaching career in Cincinnati before teaching at several schools Indiana and Ohio. She taught the students in primary grades and enjoyed seeing their faces “light-up” as they grasped a new concept and began to learn more about Christ.
In 1981 she returned to the Motherhouse as a Nursing Assistant for four years before serving as the Assistant Coordinator of Olivia Hall until her retirement in 1996. In an interview she commented, “I feel blessed that in 1966 the Community allowed home visits as I was able to visit my family at Christmas, just two weeks before my father passed in 1967. Then in 1980 I was able to take Holy Communion to my mother shortly before she passed. I have always felt the love and support of both my family and of my extended family of Sisters.”
In addition to her parents, she is also preceded in death by her siblings Mary Conover, Emery Streit, Stella May, Georgiana Poeppelman and John Streit. Visitation is Monday, August 5th from 1-3 p.m. in the convent chapel. Funeral services follow at 3 p.m. with Rev. Robert Weakley, O.F.M. officiating and burial will follow in the convent cemetery. Memorials may be made to the Sisters of St. Francis, P.O. Box 100, Oldenburg, Indiana, 47036 (www.OldenburgFranciscans.org). For online condolences go to www.weigelfh.com.