Sister Jane Marie Gleitz, CDP
June 9, 1936 – June 1, 2025
Sister Jane Marie Gleitz, CDP, age 88, entered eternal life on June 1, 2025. She was the oldest of three girls and three boys born to Paul Faltine and Helen Ida (Albrecht) Gleitz. Sister Jane Marie was born June 9, 1936, in Selma, Texas, and attended the local Catholic School, Our Lady of Perpetual Help. She was educated by the Sisters of Divine Providence at Providence High School in San Antonio, Texas. She graduated in 1954.
Although her initial intention was to become a religious from a different order, she answered God’s call to become a Sister of Divine Providence on September 12, 1954, and professed first vows on June 22, 1957. She received the name Sister Alexandra. Ten years later she returned to her baptismal name, Jane Marie.
Sister Jane Marie was a well-organized planner, an art enthusiast, an artist, a writer of poems, a teacher, a nature lover and protector of Mother Earth, a cook and an excellent baker. She opted to avoid technology, so in true planning form, she handwrote this description of herself:
“A B-I-G love of mine is ART in all its forms; Nature; plants; handwork; creativity in design, thinking, ideas; travel (via TRAVEL CHANNEL); journaling; pursuing SPIRITUALITY through prayer, reading, discussions, and learning from various cultures; cooking (trying new recipes & collecting recipes); continued LEARNING daily.”
Sister Jane Marie earned a Bachelor and Master of Art in Education from Our Lady of the Lake College in San Antonio, Texas. She was an elementary school teacher for 46 years, 11 as a principal. She taught in Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Arizona. She spent 20 years of those years on the Navajo Indian Reservation in Tuba City, Arizona. There she taught children of Navajo, Hopi, Anglo, and other ethnicities. She retired from the Arizona Public School system in 1998 and continued as an elementary teacher at St. Louis School in Castroville, Texas, until 2004. She then transitioned to serve her congregation at Moye Retreat Center for another six years.
In 2010, she returned to live at Our Lady of the Lake Convent in San Antonio, Texas, to become the Director of the CDP Heritage Center. Later on, she served her congregation as the retreat or meeting ambiance creator. She utilized her vast collection of nature items, hand-cut images, posters, etc, to convey the desired message. When the time came that her physical ability waned, her heart and soul led to her to become a passionate and consistent correspondent for justice advocacy. Her beautiful smile and the sparkle in her eyes that were the window to her generous and loving self will be missed!
She is survived by her siblings, Cathy (Ronnie) Fox; Nancy Friesenhahn; Paul (Frances) Gleitz; Thomas (Karen) Gleitz, numerous nieces and nephews, and all her other Sisters of Divine Providence. She was preceded in death by her parents Paul and Helen Gleitz
The Rosary is Thursday, June 12, 2025, at 4:00 p.m., and the Wake is at 6:00 p.m. A Mass of Resurrection will be on Friday, June 13, at 11:00 a.m. All services will be in Annunciation Chapel at Our Lady of the Lake Convent Center.
Loved by both family and her Sisters of Divine Providence, in lieu of flowers, you may wish to make a memorial contribution to the Sisters of Divine Providence, 603 S.W. 24th Street, San Antonio, TX 78207-4619.