Sister Mary Alice Simanek (Sister M. Leonina), who lived her religious vocation as a teacher for 81 years, died at Sacred Heart in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on December 23, 2022. Sister was 98 years old.
Sister Mary Alice was born on June 20, 1924, in Racine, Wisconsin. She was received into the School Sisters of St. Francis on June 13, 1941; made her first profession of vows in 1943; and final (perpetual) vows in 1949.
Sister is survived by three sisters: Sister Frances Simanek, SSSF, also of Milwaukee; Mary Jane Baumgardt, Racine; and Marjorie Wood, Austin, Texas; many nieces and nephews; and by the School Sisters of St. Francis Community with whom she shared her life for 81 years.
Beginning in 1945, Sister Mary Alice ministered in Wisconsin, Nebraska and Iowa for eight decades. In the Diocese of Madison, Sister taught at St. Michael School in Dane, (1947-1948) and at St. Clement School in Lancaster (1948-1952).
In her retirement, Sister served in the ministry of prayer and presence in a local convent in Milwaukee (2003-2017) and at Sacred Heart from 2017 until the time of her death. A funeral Liturgy was held on January 3, 2023, at St. Joseph Chapel in Milwaukee, followed by a burial service at Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Milwaukee.