Sister Joan Shalapin, ASC, of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ, died peacefully at 3:30 p.m. on August 8, 2026, at Benedictine Living Community at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows in Belleville, Illinois. She was 88 years old and had been professed for 68 years.
She was one of five children in the family of Peter and Mary Shalapin. After her father died, her mother married Martin Ruggiero. Although Joan was born in East St. Louis, she was baptized and confirmed in the Assumption Byzantine Ukrainian Church in St. Louis since her parents were members of the Ruthenian Eastern Rite. Her family attended St. Martin of Tours Parish in East St. Louis. She made her first profession on July 1, 1958, and her final vows on July 1, 1963, at Ruma, Illinois.
Sister Joan received her bachelor’s degree in Geography from St. Louis University in 1970. Her master’s in Art and Group Interaction was earned from Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1975. She also received a master’s degree in Pastoral Ministry from Seattle University in Seattle, Washington, in 1991.
Sister Joan’s ministry extended from the classroom to the hospital. In Illinois she taught at St. Bruno in Pinckneyville, Sacred Heart in Dupo, Immaculate Conception in Columbia, St. Joseph in Olney, and the Catholic Children’s Home in Alton. After teaching at St. Jerome in St. Louis, she taught and served as both principal and teacher at Visitation in Vienna, Missouri.
Her high school ministry was given at Gibault in Waterloo, Illinois. For ten years she taught art, sometimes serving as Department Chair. She also held the position of Dean of Students on the Gibault Administration. For several years, Sr. Joan resided in a House of Prayer at Holy Rosary in Fairmont City, Illinois. Here she also engaged in parish ministry and served as a part-time teacher.
Following several months as a Vista Volunteer in Edmonton, Kentucky, Sr. Joan’s involvement in community health led her to chair the department of Community Health Education at Our Lady of the Way Hospital in Martin, Kentucky, and St. Joseph Memorial Hospital in Murphysboro, Illinois. Following a brief sabbatical, she ministered as a pastoral associate at St. Joseph the Worker Mission in Elkhorn City, Kentucky for 15 years.
Sister Joan was a member of the St. Louis Camera Club and served as a volunteer for medical research projects at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.
When Sr. Joan began Living Mission in Later Life and eventually moved to Benedictine Living Community, she continued several independent ministries, such as photography, art, spirituality, volunteering with Hospice, and reading for the blind and partially sighted through a program sponsored by Our Lady of the Snows Shrine.
Sister Joan is survived by her sisters Kathleen Simons, Phyllis (Terry) Johns, her sister-in-law Mary (Cox) Shalapin, nieces and nephews, and members of the ASC community.
She was preceded in death by her parents, her brother Peter, her sister Rosemary (Art) Rengers, her stepsister Rose Hanley, and brother-in-law Warner Simons.
The Mass of the Resurrection for Sr. Joan will take place at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, August 18 at the Benedictine Living Community Chapel. Sisters, family, and friends are invited to come between 12:30 and 1:30 prior to Mass. Sister Joan is continuing her ministry for medical research by donating her body to science, and her remains will be buried by the university in St. Louis. A memorial plaque will be placed at a later date at the cemetery in Ruma.
Donations in Sr. Joan’s memory may be sent to the Adorers at 4233 Sulphur Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri, 63109, or made online at www.adorers.org.
Adorers of the Blood of Christ, United Sates Region