Sr. Joan Stoffel to retire June 30

By RENEE WEBB, Globe editor
June 24, 2004

After more than 50 years in active ministry, Sister Joan Stoffel will retire on June 30 - at least from full-time service.

Catholic educators throughout the Diocese of Sioux City are familiar with Sister Joan as she served as the superintendent of elementary education and elementary curriculum director from 1993 to 1997 and then took on the role of superintendent of education for elementary and secondary education through 2002. For the last two years she continued to work with diocesan schools, serving as the diocesan curriculum director.

This native of Oyens entered the Franciscan Sisters of Dubuque in 1951, right out of high school. She is a graduate of St. Mary's High School in Remsen.

"From the first-grade on, I always knew I wanted to be a sister and I also knew I wanted to be a teacher," said Sister Joan. "My mother had been a teacher before she was married. She always spoke so highly of that opportunity to be a teacher."

Through the years, she has taught students of all ages - from kindergartners to those studying for their master's degrees. Sister, herself, has master's degrees in school administration and computer application.

She plans to take the summer off, but will be back in the classroom part-time this fall as she will teach a few education classes at Briar Cliff University in Sioux City.

"Most people do something in retirement anyway - a hobby or something - and since my experience is in education, I am delighted to have an opportunity to serve in a small capacity in continuing education," noted Sister Joan, who will be 71 on June 29.

The bulk of her ministry through the years has been in Catholic education, so given the fact that she has the health, education and desire to continue to help others, this part-time position at BCU is ideal.

She recalled that her first teaching assignment was in 1954 as a K-3 music teacher at Sacred Heart School in Dubuque. The school had 1,000 students.

"That's probably one of the big changes in Catholic education through the years - we've gotten smaller, but I think we have gotten more intense about our mission," said Sister Joan. "And though we have had difficult changes, I don't think it will ever end Catholic education because people are committed to it and they see the need for it."

Her first assignment in the Diocese of Sioux City was in 1970 as the head teacher and principal at Wesley-St. Benedict Grade School. She served there three years. One of her students was Father Tim Johnson.

She served as the principal at Arcadia-Vail Parochial from 1974 to 1977. After a stint out of the diocese, she returned in 1980 as an assistant professor of education at Briar Cliff. In 1986, she was again assigned a ministry out of the diocese, returning to the Office of Education of the diocese in 1993.

She has fond memories of working with Father Patrick O'Kane, who served as the secondary superintendent when she was the elementary superintendent.

"During that time, I built relationships that helped me understand even better what Catholic education is all about," said Sister Joan, who added that they developed faith formation programs that enriched the spiritual lives of the administrators. Knowing that they were growing together in their commitment to Catholic education was a very satisfying part of the job for Sister Joan.

With Father O'Kane, they started the school self-studies. She noted that this helped to strengthen the diocesan/school relationship and helped schools prepare for upcoming challenges with accreditation and accountability to the state.

"This past year I worked with teachers in the social studies curriculum and it is edifying to hear their dedication and commitment to teaching the Catholic faith through whatever they teach - how we respect one another, how we deal with our resources, how we reach out to the needy and poor," said Sister Joan.

She sees the value in teachers developing the curriculum as it gives them ownership.

Through her work in education at the diocesan level, she noted that she has had the opportunity to form relationships with people that served on the Diocesan Board of Education as well as the Catholic School Foundation.

"This helped me to recognize even more of the wonderful contributions that people have made throughout the history of the diocese for Catholic education," she said.

Sister Joan extended gratitude to the various departments at the Central Catholic Office who provided support to Catholic schools.

Her work at the diocesan level also enabled her involvement with the Iowa Catholic Conference, serving on the education committee. This group determined which issues they wanted legislators to address. One of the accomplishments was the tax credit.

"It was building on the work of former superintendents such as Msgr. Lafferty who had done so much for the reform of education issues that Catholic schools were entitled to be a part of," stressed Sister Joan.

Through the Iowa Catholic Conference, she had the chance to network with leaders from other denominations as they worked on unified efforts for nonpublic schools. She likewise values the relationships she formed with others as a member of the National Catholic Education Association.

"Being in this office gave me lots of opportunities to celebrate Catholic schools. I loved Catholic schools week. When we didn't have snowstorms, we would go around, visiting schools to see what they were doing locally," she said. "The bishop's dinner was also another opportunity to celebrate teachers' accomplishments and recognize people who had dedicated a lot of their resources to Catholic education."

Participating in groundbreaking and dedications for new schools were memorable occasions. They were reminders to the woman religious that things change and grow.

"Sadly, we have to witness the closing of some places," she said.

Sister Joan looks forward to the upcoming 50-year celebrations at Kuemper High School in Carroll and Gehlen High School in Le Mars. She has connections with these schools as she attended school in Le Mars as an elementary student and she taught in the Carroll-area.

Along with teaching part-time, Sister Joan will continue to serve on the governor's nonpublic school advisory committee until 2006. She hopes to increase her involvement in her religious community's assorted committees, devote some time to reading and will continue volunteering to play the organ at Holy Spirit Nursing Home and St. Boniface Church.

With her siblings living close by, Sister Joan added that she plans to spend more time with family.

Would she choose this religious vocation and career path as an educator again? You bet.

"It has surpassed my expectations. I had no idea how enriching it would be to be with students and other educators and no idea as to the opportunities for growth in the profession," said Sister Joan. "Education has changed so much - it is a lifelong learning process. I've always loved school."

Even as a child on summer vacation, she used to play school constantly.

"I won't ever be far from school or learning," she said.