Sister Donna Marie Woodson, O.S.F.

Sister Donna Marie Woodson, O.S.F. (82) of the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis died on Sunday, December 18, 2016 at 4:10 p.m. at St. John's Hospital in Springfield, Illinois. Sister Donna Marie, the former Marie Evelyn Woodson, was born in Omaha, Nebraska on July 10, 1934, the daughter of Cleo Eugene and Josephine Mary Hoban Woodson. She entered the Congregation on February 11, 1960 and professed her religious vows on September 8, 1962. Sister graduated from Routt Catholic High School in Jacksonville, Illinois. Sister received a BS in Physical Therapy from St. Louis University in June of 1957 and a MA in Franciscan Studies from Bonaventure University in 1980. Sister ministered as a physical therapist in HSHS hospitals in Illinois and Wisconsin and with The Edgewater Physical Therapy Associates in Chicago, Illinois. Sister was named in the Who's Who in the Midwest. In 1983, Sister traveled to India to assist the Indian Sisters of the Congregation as an English teacher and was one of the founding Sisters of the Assisi Bhawan Health Center in Bihar, India where she ministered as a physical therapist. Later in her life, Sister served in parish ministry in Jacksonville and Beardstown, Illinois. In 2009, Sister joined the Motherhouse community in Springfield, Illinois. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by a brother, Richard Woodson; and three sisters, Gene Ann Johnson, Charlotte Stevenson, and Betty Jo Woodson. She is survived by a sister, Jessie Chesser of Hillsboro; nieces and nephews; great-nieces and great-nephews; and her Franciscan Sisters with whom she shared her life for over 56 years. Visitation: A visitation will be held at the St. Francis Convent from 4:00-7:00 p.m. with a Wake Service at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, December 28, 2016. The Eucharistic Celebration and Rite of Christian Burial will be celebrated by Father Andre Schludecker, OFM on Thursday, December 29, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. in St. Clare of Assisi Adoration Chapel at St. Francis Convent. Burial will be in Crucifixion Hill Cemetery.