Benedictine Mary Jane (Georgene) Cournoyer, 98, died Dec. 25 at the St. Cloud Hospital, St. Cloud. The Eucharist of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 4, at the Sacred Heart Chapel, Saint Benedict’s Monastery, St. Joseph, with burial in the monastery cemetery. Friends may call at Saint Scholastica Convent on Wednesday, Jan. 3, for a 3 p.m. prayer service followed by visitation until 4:15 p.m. or for a vigil prayer service at 7 p.m. at Saint Benedict’s Monastery. Visitation continues at 9 a.m. until the time of the funeral Jan. 4.
The sixth of William and Mary Virtue Jane (Hebert) Cournoyer’s seven children, she was born in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. Her twin brother, George was the fifth child. She moved to Eau Claire, Wisconsin, as a sixth grader and attended St. Patrick’s Grade and High School. She entered Saint Benedict’s Monastery Sept. 10, 1944, and was received into the novitiate June 21, 1945, as Sister Mary Jane. She made her first monastic profession July 11, 1946, and her perpetual monastic profession July 11, 1949. In 1948, Sister Mary Jane volunteered with other sisters to establish Saint Bede Monastery in Eau Claire, transferring back to Saint Benedict’s Monastery in 2010. She celebrated her golden jubilee in 1996, 60th anniversary in 2006 and 75th anniversary in 2021.
Sister Mary Jane earned her bachelor’s degree in education at St. Scholastica College, Duluth, Minnesota., a master’s degree in elementary education from the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire, and a master’s degree in religious studies from St. Mary’s College in Winona, Minnesota. She also attended Bemidji State College, Bemidji, Minnesota and the University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana.
For 45 years, Sister Mary Jane served as an educator in Watkins, St. Thomas More in La Crosse, Wisconsin, St. Patrick’s in Eau Claire, St. Benedict’s Academy in Altoona, Wisconsin, and St. Patrick’s in Onalaska, Wisconsin, as well as principal and superior in Richland Center, Wisconsin. She then changed careers and worked in pastoral ministry at Luther Hospital in Eau Claire, followed by 16 years as chaplain in Oakwood Villa in Altoona. She moved to Saint Scholastica Convent in 2010 and continued to serve in community services and as a companion to the sisters.
Sister Mary Jane is survived by her Benedictine community and nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, two sisters, Mildred Gindt and Ruth Fischer, and four brothers, John, Paul, Francis and George.
Please direct memorials to the Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict Outreach Ministries.