Sr. Jean Marie Hauck SDS

Helena Hauck was born at home on the windswept prairie near Aberdeen, South Dakota. She was one of nine children of Adam and Anna (Bullock) Hauck with five brothers and three sisters. She stated that the most important event of her early life was the birth of her sister, Clara. They became best friends and their friendship spanned 80 years until Clara’s death in 2014.

Growing up, she learned culinary arts, became proficient in sewing, and also learned to crochet and embroider. Her father taught her gardening and living on a farm gave her a love for nature and animals, especially the little ones. This love for animals continued through the years as she began paying special attention to feral cats that came to visit her and receive food.

She received her early education in a one-room schoolhouse. Despite the circumstances of her early education, she stated that she felt equipped with a good educational foundation. She loved school, and reading was one of her favorite activities, an enjoyment that remained through all her years. In seventh grade the family moved near Wetonka, South Dakota where her education continued with each grade having their own teacher. Because of distance her high school education involved attending three different high schools. It was during these years that she felt God was calling her to religious life.

On August 18, 1948, she entered the Sisters of the Divine Savior Congregation. Recalling her formation, she said, “As a candidate I usually spent any free time reading and one day found the life of the Curé of Ars. I felt an immediate connection and chose him as my special patron. On entering the novitiate, I put Jean Marie as my name choice and was thrilled when the presider announced that was my new name.” She became a novice on August 12, 1949. She pronounced her first vows on August 13, 1950 and final vows on August 13, 1956 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

After formation, she was asked to attend Alverno College even though she was not personally interested in becoming a teacher. But, in obedience, she went anyway and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1968. Sister Jean Marie taught for 46 years in a number of schools in Wisconsin, as well as in Alabama, Minnesota, and Maryland. When she, along with other Salvatorian Sisters, moved to St. Joseph in Beltsville, Maryland, she was delighted to find that the convent had a huge fenced in back yard. With permission from the pastor, she and Sister Florence Demers planted a rose garden along with climbing roses on the fence, flower borders, fruit trees, blueberries, strawberries, and a vegetable garden. One year they even grew peanuts! It was a joy for her to use the gardening skills she learned from her father throughout her childhood.

After leaving Beltsville, she spent three years ministering as a pastoral associate in Brookhaven, Mississippi, but realized her personality and gifts did not fit the ministry. However, she found many positive aspects. She said, “I loved Mississippi and the people of the parish. I worked in the food pantry, started and ran a small thrift store for the poor, and I was asked to create a special banner for the 100th anniversary of the parish.” In 1989, she returned to Alabama to St. Joseph/Holy Family School in Huntsville to teach. The only available position included teaching art in all grades and after school care. These years gave her an opportunity to use her artistic abilities. She remained in this ministry until she retired from teaching in June, 1996.

After retiring, Sister Jean Marie remained in the Huntsville community and joined “Our Brothers Keepers,” a group of parish women who made sleeping bags for the homeless. She also worked on special projects for Holy Family School, decorating bulletin boards and lettering posters, signs, and the eighth grade diplomas. As always, in her retirement she also greatly enjoyed reading.

Sister Jean Marie became friends with Sister Florence Demers when they taught together in Beltsville. They both felt close to God when they spent time enjoying God’s creation and nature, and embarked on many journeys to national parks across the United States. They visited a total of eight national parks before Sister Florence became ill and they could no longer make the long trips.

Sister Jean Marie continued to live in Huntsville with Sister Joan Wagner until they returned to Milwaukee to live at Salvatorian Sisters Residence, enriching the community with their loving presence, and the environment with master-gardening skills. The courtyard flourished, looking lovelier and lovelier with the arrival of each growing season, and the windowsills in the hallways became lush with beautiful potted plants.

Sister Jean Marie’s health began to diminish over the months preceding her passing, and on April 5, 2026, Easter Sunday, God called her home.

Sister Jean Marie was preceded in death by her parents, Adam and Anna Hauck, brothers and sisters: Madeline (George) Johnson, Jack (Betty) Hauck, Sam (Marion) Hauck, Mike Hauck, Eddie Hauck, Nick (Lorreta) Hauck, Marianne (Tom) Peters, Joe (Jean) Hauck, Ron (Marcia) Hauck, and Clara (Robert) Beilke. She is survived by many nieces and nephews, grand nieces and nephews, and her Salvatorian Family.

Visitation and Mass of Christian Burial

Monday, April 13, 2026

St. Anne’s Salvatorian Campus Chapel • 3800 North 92nd Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Visitation at 1:15 PM; Remembering Service at 1:45 PM

followed by the Mass of Christian Burial.

Father Paul Portland, SDS - Presider

Burial: Holy Cross Cemetery, Milwaukee, Wisconsin