Jeanne Theresa Sachs

Jeanne Theresa Sachs passed away on August 14, 2024 at Avow Hospice Center, Naples, Florida. She was born on March 4, 1938, in Dayton, Ohio, to J. Howard Sachs and Edith Catherine Gibbons, who preceded her in death. Jeanne had four sisters, Mary Lynne Sachs Barlow Porter (deceased), Karen Virginia Sachs (deceased) Catherine Sachs Cassidy, Denise Sachs Porter Evans (deceased), and a brother John Howard Sachs, Jr. Jeanne is survived by many nieces and nephews. She attended Corpus Christi Grade School, Julienne High School, and two years at Rosary College (now Dominican University) in River Forest, Illinois; she entered the convent of the Maryknoll Sister Order in Ossining, New York in 1961. The Maryknoll Sisters are known for their missionary work around the world. Jeanne was assigned to Guadalupe, California to work with migrant communities made up of Japanese and Mexican migrants. The migrants worked growing and harvesting sugar beets. Jeanne was able to return to Maryknoll to work on finishing her bachelor’s degree. Her education efforts brought her to New York City and the United Nations, where she worked with the Dorothy Day Soup Kitchen. Jeanne received a degree from Mary Roger’s College, at Maryknoll in Community Organization. In 1969, Jeanne was assigned to Chile by Maryknoll as a missionary, after attending intense Spanish culturalization in Cochabamba, Bolivia. She and two other nuns resided in a shanty town on the outskirts of Santiago, Chile. Her assignment was to serve and build the Christian community. Her organizing efforts were at times affected by the military coup of elected Salvador Allende in 1973. The military leadership of Pinochet targeted Roman Catholic organizations, including the missionaries. At times, roaming bands of the military would ride through the neighborhood shooting indiscriminately into the residences. Mattresses were placed against the walls to catch bullets. Jeanne left the order in 1975 and spent some time in the Dayton area, working for the City of Kettering. She decided to relocate to Miami, Florida to pursue her new mission, working with the underprivileged in the area and to get a master’s degree in Social Work, which she did from Barry University. She spent time in Miami working at the Jewish Home and Hospital for the Aged. She later moved to the Naples, Florida area to be closer to her parents for the remainder of their lives. She worked for the Literacy Council and the Alzheimer’s Support Network and volunteered as a docent at The Conservancy of Southwest Florida and the Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. Jeanne was very active as a secular member of the Third Order of St. Francis. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Tuesday, August 20, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. at St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church in Naples, followed by an internment and reception at St. John the Evangelist Church, Naples. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Alzheimers’s Support Network, Naples. To sign her guest register or to leave online condolences please visit www.ShikanyFuneralHome.com. Arrangements are being handled by Shikany’s Bonita Funeral Home Family Owned and Operated Since 1978.

Jeanne Theresa Sachs

March 4, 1938 - August 14, 2024