Sister Mary Jean Clare   

Sister Mary Jean Clare                   ND 4654                    PDF Download

Joan Catherine LAMPING

Immaculate Conception Province, USA

Date and Place of Birth:           August 16, 1933  Cincinnati, Ohio
Date and Place of Profession: August 25, 1953 Covington, Kentucky
Date and Place of Death:          January 2, 2021 Covington, Kentucky
Date and Place of Burial:          January 6, 2021 Covington, Kentucky

Joan Catherine Lamping was born into the loving family of Joseph and Mary (Peter) Lamping on August 16, 1933, in Cincinnati, Ohio.  She was the youngest of four daughters. Early on, Joan developed a sense of patience and compassion for her family and those around her. After graduating from St. Agnes Elementary School, Cincinnati, Ohio, she attended Regina High School in Norwood, Ohio for two years.  With the encouragement of her oldest sister, Sister Mary Thaddeus, SND, and urged by her strong calling to religious life, she entered the Sisters of Notre Dame Aspirant school in Covington, Kentucky in her junior year. As a senior, Joan entered the Sisters of Notre Dame on February 2, 1951 and pronounced her first vows on August 25, 1953.

Continuing her education, she majored in biology and mathematics at Villa Madonna College (Thomas More University). Although Sister Jean Clare began her ministry teaching elementary and high school students, she is most remembered and loved for her ministry in health care as a physical therapist. To prepare for this new role, she studied at the Mayo Clinic, qualifying to join the staff of the new St. Charles Care Center.

Sister Jean Clare was at St. Charles for 8 years until she was called to minister at St. Clare Health Care (St. Claire Regional Medical Center) where she worked for over 19 years.  She then returned to Northern Kentucky as the Director of Physical Therapy at St. Charles Care Center and later joined the team at St. Elizabeth Home Therapy Department.

She enjoyed a well-deserved respect in the therapy community. Those whom she mentored or who collaborated with her reported having learned much from her, both as a therapist and a person.  She taught interns how to see the world from the patient’s point of view.  She modeled the importance of compassion and integrity to healing with a calm grace.

After over 67 years of religious ministry in education and health care, Sister retired to Lourdes Hall, as her Parkinson’s disease and associated dementia took their toll.  She was a woman of prayer who cherished her community, family, and friends.  Sister was a richly gifted person, who lived behind a sweet smile and gentle manner that touched so many lives.

Sister Mary Jean Clare went home to God very peacefully on January 2, 2021. May she now live in joy and peace in God’s loving embrace for all eternity.