Ann L. Dechant

She was born November 14, 1929, on her family’s farm near Liebenthal, Kansas, the youngest child of Joseph and Rosa (Herrman) Schafer. Ann graduated from Sacred Heart Academy in Wichita, where she earned a teacher certification, and later attended Sacred Heart College in Wichita and Fort Hays State University in Hays.

On August 20, 1951, she married Virgil Dechant at St. Joseph Church in Liebenthal. Ann spent the next four years working as an elementary school teacher, and she continued her passion for education throughout her life, later serving four years as a member of the board of directors of the National Catholic Educational Association.

In 1967, Ann and Virgil and their children moved from Kansas to Connecticut, where Virgil took a full-time job working for the Knights of Columbus. He would be named Supreme Knight in 1977. The couple would live in Connecticut until 2001, when they moved back to Kansas and settled in Leawood.

In 1982, Saint John Paul II appointed Ann and Virgil to the Pontifical Council for the Family; they would be reappointed for five-year terms in 1988, 1993, and 1998. In 1987, they were appointed as auditors to the Synod of Bishops convened in Rome to examine the role of the laity in church affairs.

In a life full of special relationships, none was more noteworthy than Ann’s close ties with Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Theirs was a friendship rich in personal visits, phone calls, and correspondence that lasted from 1980 until Saint Teresa’s death in 1997.

In 1998, Saint John Paul II awarded Ann the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice medal, a decoration of the Holy See to honor service to the church and mankind.

Ann was preceded in death by her father Joseph, her mother Rosa, her husband Virgil, her brother Berthold, and sisters Rosemary Simpson, Geraldine Schafer, Coleta Haberman, and Leola Gottschalk. She is survived by her four children: Tom (Maggie) of La Crosse, Kansas; Dan of Lampe, Missouri; Karen (Bob Thompson) of Leawood, Kansas; and Bob (Gina) of Aldie, Virginia; 11 grandchildren and 17 great grandchildren. Other survivors include sisters-in-law Peggy Norris, Lucy Dechant and Karen Depperschmidt.

In Ann’s last few years, she and her family were touched by the love and attention she received from her caregivers, whose steadfast commitment ensured her daily comfort.

A Mass of Christian burial is scheduled for 11 a.m. at Church of the Nativity in Leawood, Kansas, on Thursday, November 2, with a visitation preceding Mass at 10 a.m.

A Memorial Mass will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. at St. Michael Church in La Crosse, Kansas on Saturday, November 4, followed by interment at the La Crosse Catholic cemetery. A visitation will precede Mass at 9:30 a.m.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Church of the Nativity of Leawood, Kansas or to the St. Michael Tri-Parish Fund of La Crosse, Kansas.