Sister Jeanette von Herrmann, OSB, was born into eternal life at 8:20 p.m. on June 6, 2019. She was 73 years old and had been a Benedictine sister for 38 years. Sister Jeanette will be remembered for her gift of hospitality, her ability to relate to every member of the community, and deep love of Benedictine life.
She was born Joanne to her parents Otto and Doris in San Francisco, California, on Jan. 4, 1946. She grew up in San José, California, where she attended public elementary schools and Catholic high school. She attended Marymount Palos Verdes College for two years. She entered religious life at the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary in 1965. Because of a strong desire to live monastic life, she transferred to Queen of Angels Monastery in Mount Angel in June 1979; she had met the community while attending summer school at Mount Angel Seminary, graduating with a master’s degree in theology in 1979. At Queen of Angels she made Monastic Profession in 1981.
Sister Jeanette’s ministries over the years include teaching elementary and high school and serving as director of admission at Marymount Palos Verdes College, pastoral associate at St. Joseph Parish in Cupertino, California, and director of religious education at St. Paul Parish in Silverton. She also gave retreats at Shalom Prayer Center in Mount Angel. From 1987 to 1995, she was a graduate student in biblical studies at Catholic University, Washington, D.C., where she also served as department secretary. She was elected prioress of Queen of Angels Monastery in 1995 and served until 1999 when she went back to Washington, D.C., to write her dissertation on the Book of Esther and was awarded a Ph.D. in Biblical Studies/Old Testament in May 2004. When she returned to Queen of Angels in 2008, she engaged in various ministries. In 2015 she served as oblate director and secretary/treasurer for Queen of Angels and its subsidiary corporations.
In September 2016 Sister Jeanette transfered to the Monastery of St. Gertrude, Cottonwood, Idaho, where she prayed, lived, and worked until her death.
Sister Jeanette is survived by her two brothers Joseph and his wife Sandy of Sonora, California, and Jim and his wife Suzanne of Savannah, Georgia, and her monastic communities at St. Gertrude and Queen of Angels Monastery. A Memorial Mass was held on July 27 in the chapel at Queen of Angels Monastery. Memorial gifts can be
made to the Benedictine Sisters of
Mount Angel.
