Sister Janel Crumb
Sister Janel Crumb, a Franciscan Sister of the Congregation of Our Lady of Lourdes, Rochester, Minnesota, died at Assisi Heights, Thursday, May 12, 2022.
Kathryn Mae Crumb was born May 7, 1932, in New Richland, Minnesota, to Winfred and Mary (Chicos) Crumb. She entered the Sisters of St. Francis in 1951, received the name of Sister Mary Janel, and made perpetual vows in 1956. She earned a B.S. degree in Elementary Education in 1963, from the College of St. Teresa, Winona, Minnesota. She further completed an M.S. degree in Education with a concentration in Art in 1968, from Winona State University, Winona, Minnesota, and continued post-graduate study at the University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, Colorado, from 1971 to 1972.
In 1953, Sister Janel began her teaching ministry in Elementary Education at parochial schools in Rochester and Winona, Minnesota, as well as Chicago, Illinois, until 1967. She transitioned to teaching College Art Education and becoming a Resident Advisor at the College of St. Teresa, Winona, Minnesota, from 1967 to 1976. She taught Elementary Education in Las Animas, Colorado, from 1976 to 1978. And from 1979 to 1981, she became an Administrative Assistant for the Pikes Peak Justice and Peace Commission in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She co-founded LaPuente Home for the homeless in 1981, while also working at San Luis Valley Christian Community Services in Alamosa, Colorado, until 1987. After that, she took a sabbatical between 1987 and 1988 at Our Lady of Solitude House of Prayer, Black Canyon City, Arizona. In 1988, she served as a Director of Grand Valley Catholic Outreach, Grand Junction, Colorado, until 1989, and then moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico to assist the homeless population until 1993. She was a volunteer at parishes/shelters for the homeless and for justice and peace in Bernalillo and Albuquerque, New Mexico from 1993 to 2002.
Throughout the course of her ministries, she was actively involved in the Rochester Franciscan Community and Church, serving as a Chapter Delegate and joining a number of committees including the Social Justice Committee; Corporate Investment Task Force; Alternative Retirement Committee; Loretto Community Disarmament Committee; Justice & Peace Network; Cojourner Advisory Council; Chapter Recommended Task Force: Properties & Service to the Poor; Congregational Liturgy Committee; and Committee for Disadvantaged Students. She resided on the Board for LaPuente Home, Friends in Time, and Tierra Madre, as well as on the National Board and as a Colorado State Coordinator at Ribbon Peace Project. She retired to Assisi Heights in 2003.
Survivors of Sister Janel include her Franciscan Sisters with whom she shared life for 71 years; one brother, Richard Crumb, and a sister-in-law, Anita Crumb. She was preceded in death by her parents; brothers: John, Harvey, Charles, Thomas, Thornton, Maxon, Dennis, and Robert Crumb; and sisters: Dorothy, Margaret, Jeanice, and Genelle.
A private Funeral Liturgy will be held at Assisi Heights at 11:00 a.m., Thursday, May 26, 2022. Burial will take place at Calvary Cemetery. To view the funeral, via Livestream, use this link on Thursday, May 26: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88367423126.
Suggested memorials are to the Sisters of St. Francis, Office of Mission Advancement, Assisi Heights, 1001 14th St. NW, Rochester, MN 55901.