Sister Kathryn Minar, OSF
Sister Kathryn Minar, 81, a Franciscan Sister of the Congregation of Our Lady of Lourdes, Rochester, Minnesota, died at Assisi Heights on Friday, March 14, 2025.
Kathryn Ann Minar was born on April 28, 1943, in Northfield, Minnesota, to James and Agnes (Zelenka) Minar. She was very proud of her Czech heritage. Her father’s baptismal name was Wenceslaus, and her parents grew up in New Prague, Minnesota. After marriage, they moved to rural Northfield, Minnesota, and had nine children. This is the first generation to marry someone of non-Czech heritage. Sister Kathryn Minar entered the Sisters of St. Francis in 1962, received the name of Sister Agnella, and made perpetual vows in 1970.
Sister Kathryn dedicated over fifty years of service as a librarian in several communities, including Rochester and Winona, Minnesota, and Huron, South Dakota. Her career began at Cotter High School in Winona, where she served from 1970 to 1978. She then moved on to Huron College in Huron, South Dakota, serving as a librarian from 1979 to 1982. From 1982 to 1989, Sister Kathryn worked as an audio-visual librarian at the College of St. Teresa in Winona, Minnesota. In 1992, she began a new chapter at the Tau Center in Winona, where she served as librarian and contributed to Franciscan Studies until 2002. Sister Kathryn continued her service as the Franciscan Life Librarian at Assisi Heights in Rochester, Minnesota, from 2002 until her retirement in 2022
.Survivors of Sister Kathryn Minar include her Franciscan Sisters, with whom she shared life for 63 years; one brother, James Minar; five sisters, Mary Ann Damm, Barbara MacDonald, Monica Boe, Agnes Paul, and Geralyn Lindblom. She was preceded in death by her parents; and two sisters, Ann Minar, and Margaret Minar.
A Resurrection Liturgy will be held at Assisi Heights at 11:00 AM on Thursday, March 27, 2025. The burial will take place at Calvary Cemetery. To view the funeral via live stream, go to https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88367423126.
Memorials are suggested to the Sisters of St. Francis, Office of Mission Advancement, Assisi Heights, 1001 14th St. NW, Rochester, MN 55901