By Eileen Coogan, Allegany Franciscan Ministries, President & CEO

Sr. Jeanne was “an original” board member for Allegany Franciscan Ministries, serving on the founding board of the Allegany Franciscan Foundation-Miami, and her commitment to us and the people we serve was joy-filled and steadfast from those early days. She asked hard questions and expected results, but she always believed in us and in the Wimauma community. In the early days of the Common Good Initiative, her exhortation to the board “we cannot, not do this!” to provide a $200,000 capital grant for Enterprising Latinas (ELI) to purchase a building created a tipping point for ELI, setting them firmly on the road to the successful community development organization they are today. Even through her cancer treatments the last few years, Jeanne never missed a Council meeting. I think we’ll especially miss her exclamations of delight when she was pleased or surprised.

God rest her beautiful soul.