Sister Ann Martinek, OSF, 91, passed away December 10, 2024 at MercyOne Genesis Medical Center in Davenport. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, December 14, at The Canticle, 841 13th Ave N in Clinton, with Rev. Robert McAleer presiding. Visitation will be at The Canticle from 4:00-6:00 p.m. on Friday, December 13, with a rosary at 3:45 p.m. and wake service at 6:00 p.m. Burial will be in St. Irenaeus Calvary Cemetery. Pape Funeral Home is assisting.
Florence Marie was born May 28, 1933, in Fort Atkinson, IA, the daughter of Joseph and Mary Ann (Kuhn) Martinek. She had six brothers and four sisters. She entered the Sisters of St. Francis at Mount St. Clare Convent, Clinton, IA, on September 8, 1953. She received the name Mary Ann Therese at her reception on June 21, 1954, and later assumed the name Sister Ann. She made her first profession on August 12, 1956, and her final profession on August 12, 1959. Sister Ann received a B.A. in Art Education from George Peabody College for Teachers, Nashville, TN, and a M.Ed. in Administration and Supervision from Loyola University, Chicago, IL. She held Professional Teacher and Administrative Certificates in Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri. She served in the ministries of education and parish work, and was a member of the General Council of the Sisters of St. Francis from 1980 to 1984. She taught at St. Rita in Cameron, MO; St. Ann in Toluca, IL; St. Francis de Paula in Chicago, IL; and St. Gerald in Oak Lawn, IL. She was principal at St. Paul in Macomb, IL; Sacred Heart in Clinton; and St. Justin the Martyr in St. Louis, MO.
She also served as Director of Religious Education and as a Pastoral Associate at St. John Bosco Parish in St. Louis. After retiring from full-time ministry in 2014, she returned to Clinton to reside at The Canticle. She assisted the congregation by serving as Associate Partnership Coordinator and as Assistant Finance Director from until 2022. Sister Ann enjoyed sewing, loved reading, doing jigsaw puzzles, and playing Rummikub. She moved to The Alverno on October 3, 2024, and resided there until her death.
Sister Ann is survived by her brothers, Mark (Mary Lou), Julius (Jeanne), and Daniel (Susan); sister, Mildred Jacoby; several nieces and nephews; and the Sisters of St. Francis with whom she shared life for 71 years. She was preceded in death by her parents; brothers, Valerian, James V., and James O.; sisters, Eleanor Hill, Lillian Kruger, and Ilene “Eileen” McCallen; sister-in-law, Joyce Martinek; and brothers-in-law, George Jacoby and Robert Hill.