Ecological Goldmine
September 2, 2025
Sister Carol Hoffman (formerly Sister M. Dismas) died at Rosary Care Center in Sylvania, Ohio on September 15, 2025, at the age of 88, after a long and brave struggle with cancer. The daughter of Lemoin and Lucille Hoffman came to the convent in Sylvania in 1960 from St. Clement Parish in Toledo, Ohio. She made her first profession of vows in 1963 and her final profession in 1968.
Sister Carol’s 62 years of ministry called forth her gift of teaching in elementary schools in Ohio, Michigan, and Louisiana. She was well prepared for her ministry with bachelor degrees from Mary Manse College (Toledo, Ohio) and a master in education/reading from Bowling Green State University (Bowling Green, Ohio). In the late 1980s, the Sylvania Franciscans responded to a call to serve in parishes in the New Orleans area. Sister Carol was one who offered to minister there and spent 30 years in New Orleans teaching, serving as a Librarian, and thoroughly loving her work among the people, especially the children.
New Orleans captured Sister Carol’s heart and soul as she relished the culture, the environment and the stamina, as well as the endurance of the people. The Mardi Gras parades, the food (especially Community Coffee), the flora and fauna, the deep faith of the people surrounding her, and the other Sisters with whom she lived and worked—all gave her meaning and purpose as she faced life’s challenges.
In 2005, Hurricane Katrina brought challenges to all of New Orleans, and the surrounding area, that tested the grit and stamina of the people in a way that no one could have ever predicted or expected. Sister Carol and her Irish friend, Sister Teresa Rooney, met those challenges head on as the churches and schools where they ministered and their homes were destroyed. They stayed in the area and helped out wherever help was needed.
Sister Carol returned to the Motherhouse in Sylvania in 2013 and continued helping wherever she could. She spent time assisting with digitizing the Sisters’ Spiritual Reading Library and then worked in the Sisters’ Archives, where she became the Congregational Archivist. Due to health issues, Sister Carol eventually retired and became an example of a person of great patience, resilience and perseverance. In a letter she sent to her friends in 2006 after Hurricane Katrina she wrote, “I pray to live ‘in the moment’ and let God take care of the future…I see very little of our other Southern Sisters, (Sr. Jo, Ramona, Mary Jo and Rebecca) these days, because of distance, but we keep in touch and support each other, planning to be back together again someday.” With the exception of Sister Rebecca, they are together again. The laughter in heaven just increased a hundredfold! We miss you all!
Sister Carol was preceded in death by her parents and her brother Tom Hoffman. She will be dearly missed by her Sisters in community, especially Sister Fidelis Rubbo (who read to her when she could no longer see), her caregivers at Our Lady of Grace and Rosary Care Center, her nieces, and her many friends.
The Welcome Service for Sister Carol will be held Monday, September 22, 2025, at 6:00PM in Our Lady Queen of Peace Chapel in Sylvania, Ohio. The Funeral Liturgy will take place on Tuesday, September 23, 2025, at 10:30AM in the Chapel. The Welcoming and Funeral Mass may be livestreamed from the Sisters of St. Francis of Sylvania website: https://video.ibm.com/channel/RvdadQRjbGk
Memorial contributions may be made to the Sisters of St. Francis, Sylvania, Ohio. Arrangements by the Thomas I. Wisniewski Funeral Home, Toledo, Ohio.
(Written by Sister Mary Thill)
