Sister Rose Ann Stillmock chose to give God everything

Sister Rose Ann Stillmock of the Sisters of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration said she hoped and prayed that at the end of her life, when she met the Lord, she could say to Him that she gave her all – “every iota of talent,” “everything You gave me.”

The Omaha native gave God nearly 84 years of religious life and 57 years as an educator in the Archdiocese of Omaha and elsewhere. She served as an organist and choir director and as a leader in her religious community and in other capacities.

Even in retirement, she visited the sick, shared her vegetable garden, interceded in prayer, made herself available to others and wrote letters.

Throughout her long life, Sister Rose Ann shared her gifts.

She died June 28 at Mount St. Francis Nursing Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She was 102.

A funeral Mass was July 13 at St. Stanislaus Church in Omaha. Sister Rose Ann served as a longtime teacher and principal at the former St. Stanislaus School, as well as at the former Immaculate Conception School, also in Omaha.

Burial was at St. John Kanty Cemetery in Bellevue.

Sister Rose Ann was born in Omaha as Irene Wanda, the sixth of 10 children born to Martin and Barbara (Labedz) Stillmock. Sister Rose Ann was the last surviving member of her family.

Her parents were founding members of St. Stanislaus Parish. A brother, Martin, was a Redemptorist priest who served for a time as pastor of Holy Name Parish in Omaha.

Sister Rose Ann entered the Sisters of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration in 1942 and professed her final vows in 1949.

She earned a bachelor of arts degree in English from Regis College in Denver and a master of arts degree in elementary school administration from Creighton University.

Sister Rose Ann served in schools in Nebraska, Colorado, New Mexico and Kansas – receiving many honors along the way. The most significant to her was an Outstanding Religious Person award that she received from the Archdiocese of Omaha in 1991, said Sister Michelle Micek of the Sisters of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration, also an Omaha native.

Sister Rose Ann served in several leadership roles. She was a member of the board of trustees at the University of Albuquerque in New Mexico for 10 years, on the governing council for her religious province for six years, and on textbook committees for the Archdiocese of Omaha and Diocese of Gallup in New Mexico.

Sister Rose Ann’s survivors include the Sisters of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration, many nieces and nephews, great- and great-great nieces and nephews.

Memorials can be directed to the Sisters of St. Francis, attention: Sister Michelle Micek, 7625 Deer Hill Grove, Colorado Springs, CO 80919, or to the Redemptorist Fathers, 300 Liguori Drive, Liguori, MO 63057.