Sr. H. Jeanne Adams, S.H.C.J.

Jeanne Adams, SHCJ

May 25, 1928 – September 11, 2022

Educator, Pastoral Worker, Historian

Rosemont, Pennsylvania

Jeanne Adams, SHCJ, a Sister of the Holy Child Jesus for 75 years, died peacefully on Sunday, September 11, 2022. She was 94.

Sister Jeanne’s life in the Society of the Holy Child Jesus is legendary. She ministered worldwide as an educator, researcher,

pastoral minister, and historian. Sister Jeanne had been briefly imprisoned during the Nigerian-Biafran Civil War and studied

both Arabic and Creole to better serve the people of Israel, Palestine, and Haiti. Later in life, she was passionate about researching

and documenting the Society’s history, including the Sisters’ histories.  

Margaret Rogers, SHCJ, offered the following about her friend and fellow member of the "centennial set," the group of women

who entered the Society in 1946, a century after the Society's founding. "Jeanne was a brilliant woman with so many gifts and

talents. She could read at lightning speed and retain all that she read. She was scholarly, practical, a good cook, and had a lovely

singing voice. She was also a marvelous person to give a tour. Whenever our paths crossed, Jeanne would be the best guide – she

knew the people, places, and culture. She had a natural ability to bring people together and keep them connected, particularly the  

sisters who entered in 1946. Our 'centennial set' was known throughout the American Province for its special bond. That bond was  

all because of Jeanne. I will miss her dearly."

As a child, Sister Jeanne’s family moved from Detroit, Mich., to Waukegan, Ill., where she attended Saint Anastasia School and Holy

Child High School and was taught by the Sisters of the Holy Child Jesus. She entered the Society of the Holy Child Jesus after High

School and made her first and final vows in 1949 and 1954, respectively. She became known by her religious name, Mother John

Bosco.

Sister Jeanne began her teaching ministry at Saint Ignatius School (1949-1951) in Chicago, Ill., before moving to Pennsylvania,

where she taught at Saint Edward School in Philadelphia (1951-56). For the next 20 years, Sister Jeanne served in the Society’s

African Province, where Pope Paul VI gives a medal to Jeanne Adams, SHCJ, for being in the “last group to leave Biafra” and “out of

prison!”

Sister taught at Holy Child College and Holy Child Secondary School in Lagos, Nigeria. In 1967 and 1968, she was the headmistress

of Holy Child College in Nigeria. Sister Jeanne also taught for several years at Holy Child Senior School in Cape Coast, Ghana.

After returning to the United States, Sister Jeanne taught at Rosemont College in Rosemont, Pa., while studying Arabic for her

upcoming Middle East assignment. She ministered in Israel and Palestine as a teacher and pastoral care worker from 1980 to1984.

She later served and taught in impoverished communities in Haiti and Jamaica from 1991-1994.

Beginning in the mid-1980s, Sister Jeanne became very interested in documenting and archiving content for the Society. She

traveled to places that were significant in the Society’s history, including Natchez, Miss., where Venerable Cornelia Connelly lived as  

a newlywed, and Towanda, Pa., where the first Holy Child Sisters arrived from Europe to begin the Society’s American ministry.

When Sister Jeanne moved to Holy Child Center in Rosemont, she worked in the American Province’s archives for several years,

periodically giving presentations on the Society’s history.

Sister Jeanne received a Bachelor of Science in Education in 1956 from Villanova University in Villanova, Pa., and a Master of Arts in

Religion/Anthropology in 1972 from Temple University in Philadelphia.

Sister Jeanne joins her parents, Lawrence and Hortense (Sieffert) Adams, brothers, Lawrence, John, and Timothy, and sister, Evelyn

Dickelman, in their eternal life.   She is survived by her sister, Kathy Reed, and many cousins, nieces, nephews, grandnieces, and

grandnephews.

Relatives and friends are invited to Sister's Memoria Mass on Thursday, September 22, 2022 at 11:30 AM at New Sharon Chapel,

1341 Montgomery Avenue, Rosemont, PA 19010.   Interment will be private.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be sent to the Society of the Holy Child Jesus – American Province, 1341 Montgomery

Avenue, Rosemont, PA 19010, or made online at https://www.shcj.org/american/donate.www.shcj.org/american/donate.