LA CROSSE, Wis. – Sister Joanne Moeller, a native of West Point, celebrated her diamond jubilee (60 years) with the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration earlier this year.
She entered St. Rose Convent in La Crosse and ministered for eight years as a primary grade teacher in La Crosse (St. James), Superior (Cathedral), Wis.; and Halbur (St. Augustine), Iowa.
Sr. Moeller earned a bachelor’s degree in home economics with a minor in English from Viterbo College (now University) in La Crosse, and studied textiles and related art at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. She then transitioned into high school teaching, serving from 1967 to 1977 in Iowa in Breda (St. Bernard), Dyersville, (Beckman) and Carroll (Kuemper). After achieving a Ph.D. in home economics education from the University of Minnesota-Minneapolis, Sr. Moeller taught home economics at Viterbo from 1978 to 1985.
She was then appointed to a two-year term as provincial secretary for the FSPA Central Province. From 1987 to 1996, Sr. Moeller served as a family life minister at St. Pius X Parish in Cedar Rapids and then joined a team of FSPA to establish Prairiewoods Franciscan Spirituality Center in Hiawatha, Iowa. In 2001, she moved to Colorado Springs, Colo., where she served as director for Mt. St. Francis Retreat Center for 12 years before becoming its event coordinator.
Sr. Moeller retired in 2017, but continues to serve Mt. St. Francis as a volunteer.
A jubilee celebration was held at St. Rose Convent on April 20.
