Fall 2006, Volume 49, Number 3

A Life of Faith

Jo Ann Delany lives and breathes this certainty. God is her strength, her rock, her fortress. “God is the one who sees me through the difficult times in my life. I couldn’t live or make it without God’s love and protection,” she reflects.

Joni is a friend of the Sisters of the Presentation. She prays with us; she holds the same values as we do; she is always welcome in our home.

The historical connection with the sisters began when Joni’s mother was a young woman. Her mother, Hazel Josephine Jocham, went to St. Vincent’s Academy and always wanted her daughters to be taught by the Presentation sisters. So, when it came time for Joni to go to high school, her mother arranged for Joni to come to Dubuque, to board with friends and attend St. Columbkille School. Joni reminisces, “I remember Sisters Estelle Pillard, Ricarda Houlahan, Margaret Mary Sanner and Ita Sullivan with great affection.”

After high school, Joni worked at Mercy Hospital for a time and then became educated as an x-ray technician. After working in Dubuque and in Chicago in the radiology departments, Joni returned to Dubuque, met Frank Delany and married, as Joni described him, the “light of my life.” Eventually, Joni went on for further schooling, became a RN and eventually worked for 17 years as a psychiatric nurse at Mercy Hospital in Dubuque. It was during this part of her career that she met and became friends with Sister Rosalie Whalen. Joni reflects, “Sister Rosalie was the best teacher I ever had. After she was my teacher, she became my co-worker and friend.”

Like the Sisters of the Presentation, both Frank and Joni have shown a deep and passionate commitment to Catholic education. Frank, Joni’s late husband, taught and coached at Wahlert High School for 41 years. He shaped and educated thousands of young minds and he passed the Catholic faith and traditions on to thousands of young hearts and souls. His influence is being remembered as the Wahlert basketball court is being named the Colbert-Delany Court this December. Today, after being retired less than six months, Joni continues the Delany dedication to Catholic education. She spends most of her free time supporting Holy Family Catholic Schools by volunteering at Wahlert High School and Second Chances, a upscale resale shop which provides financial resources for the Holy Family Catholic School system.

Every week, you can find Joni praying with the Presentation sisters in the Sacred Heart Chapel at their motherhouse. Joni smiles, “I found this haven that is quiet and a half inch from heaven. The sisters welcomed me and encouraged me to come and to pray with them. I need God. And the sisters have offered me a space that I can feel the healing touch of my God.” Joni adds, “This experience has blessed me with many new friendships, especially that of Sister Karen Jasper. The hospitality and support I have been given means a great deal to me.”

Whatever changes have come into Joni’s life, one thing remains the same. She is committed to one simple conviction that rules her days: simply be with God, remain in God, seek God at the core and foundation of her being. The Sisters of the Presentation are graced to pray with Joni.

Pictured is Jo Ann Delany.