Sister Janet Guenther taught and served in pastoral care in the Omaha archdiocese

School Sister of St. Francis Janet Guenther, a Crofton native, served as an educator, pastoral counselor and volunteer – including more than a decade as a teacher in the Archdiocese of Omaha.

Sister Janet died Nov. 14 in Milwaukee. She was 73.

A private funeral liturgy was held Nov. 20 at St. Rose of Lima Church with burial at St. Rose Cemetery, both in Crofton. A memorial Mass will be offered later in Milwaukee.

Sister Janet loved to play tricks on her fellow sisters and occasionally dressed as a clown at parish festivals, making balloon animals for children, her family said in an obituary in the Yankton Press & Dakotan.

She entered the School Sisters of St. Francis in Milwaukee in 1966, making her first profession in 1968 and perpetual vows in 1974.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in education from Creighton University in Omaha and a master’s degree in pastoral care from the University of Seattle.

In Omaha, Sister Janet taught at St. Robert Bellarmine School from 1970 to 1972 and then-St. Pius X from 1972 to 1974. She also taught at St. Patrick in Fremont from 1974 to 1975 and the former St. John the Baptist in Petersburg from 1975 to 1981.

She spent nearly 10 years in pastoral care and hospital ministry in Arizona before returning to teaching for another 18 years.

From 2013 to 2015, she was ministry director for her congregation’s U.S. province in Omaha, where she also served in pastoral care.

After retiring in 2016, Sister Janet volunteered at New Cassel Retirement Center in Omaha, but a series of strokes curtailed her efforts, her family said.

Earlier this year, she moved to Milwaukee and ministered in prayer and presence, according to the School Sisters of St. Francis.