Donor Spotlight

Joan Horan gives back to community of Sisters who inspired her

Joan Horan was in the initial first-grade class at St. Agnes Catholic Elementary School in the Kansas City, Kan., suburb of Roeland Park. Later, she was a member of the first graduating class of nearby Bishop Miege High School. Both of these schools were led by the Ursuline Sisters of Paola, Kan. The influence the Sisters had on Joan led her to join the Ursuline Sisters in 1959. As a member of the Ursulines, she earned a bachelor’s degree in English and taught two years at Holy Name Elementary in Kansas City. She then taught two years at Bishop Miege, at which time Sister Martina Rockers invited Joan to seek a master’s degree with her from Boston College. Joan completed her master’s in counseling psychology, then returned to Ursuline Academy in Paola to begin a counseling program for

Joan Horan young adults with special needs, and to teach adult education and psychology.

Like some other women religious in the 1960s, Joan found that religious life was not where God was calling her. She left the Ursulines in 1970, but the Sisters were never far from her thoughts and her support.

In 1971, Joan became the first personnel director for DST Systems in Kansas City, a start-up company that was the first in the nation to serve as a mutual fund transfer agent. The company grew and Joan had the opportunity to grow with it, she said.

“When I started, there were 75 employees,” she said. “When I left in 2010, there were 14,000,” both in Kansas City and elsewhere. “I rose to become vice president of human resources for DST. It was quite an adventure.”

As the business began supporting more charities, Joan became the local contact in Kansas City among not-for-profit groups. She estimates that she has served on more than 20 not-for-profit boards. She is currently on the Lakemary Board, the center for people with developmental needs that was founded by the Ursulines of Paola. She is among the supporters of the Ursuline Legacy Park that is being created on the Lakemary property.

“The Ursuline Sisters had a long history of being great educators in the community, as well as with Lakemary,” Joan said. “They are certainly involved in their communities as great educators and volunteers. They are a very caring group of people.”

Joan has continued to support the Ursuline Sisters since they merged with Mount Saint Joseph in 2008, because of the great influence they’ve had on her life.

“The Ursuline Sisters are a great group of people who have a wonderful mission,” Joan said. “I’m so glad to know that our Paola Sisters could join with Mount Saint Joseph and continue their mission.”

Joan stays in contact with other former Ursuline Sisters through Peggy Neal, who was Sister Helen Marie when she conducted the St. Agnes choir in grade school. Joan was happy to learn that Sister Pat Lynch has returned to Kansas to minister at St. Agnes.

“I still keep in touch with people at Bishop Miege, and I see Sister Angela Fitzpatrick volunteering at the symphony,” Joan said. “The Ursulines are always on my mind.”n Have the Ursuline Sisters influenced your life? If you would like to learn more about ways you can support the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph, contact Carol Braden-Clarke, director of Development, at 270-229-2008, or carol.braden-clarke@maplemount.org.

Sister Martina Rockers, who inspired Joan Horan, stands next to a wooden statue of Saint Angela Merici in Bishop Miege High School in Shawnee Mission, Kan., where she taught and served for 60 years. Almost up until her death at age 92 in 2018, she was helping in their Spirit Shop.