Sister Joan Stoverink, ASC, of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ, died peacefully at 5:15 a.m. on Thursday, March 12, 2026, at Benedictine Living Community at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows, Belleville, IL. She was 73 years old and had been professed for 43 years. Joan was born on May 22, 1952, the second of five children born to the late Glennon and Dorothy (Werkmeister) Stoverink of Hillsboro, MO. Her family attended Good Shepherd Parish in Hillsboro.
Prior to entering the ASC community, Joan had earned her bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. As an ASC, she received her master’s degree in Pastoral Studies from Loyola University in Chicago, IL, in 2000.
Sister Joan’s creativity as a teacher and the variety of experiences she arranged outside the classroom gave her students a broader outlook on the world, adding to the richness their local area provided. Her artistic talent was evident in the attractive displays in her classroom, and the goal-oriented assignments, often individualized, she offered her students. She taught at St. Joseph School in Olney, St. John the Baptist in Red Bud, and St. James in Millstadt, all in Illinois. She also taught at Father Bertrand School in Memphis, TN.
After earning her master’s in Pastoral Studies in 2000, Sr. Joan ministered at the Clinton County parishes of St. Bernard in Albers and St. Damian in Damiansville, IL, as the Director of Religious Education; she also served as the Pastoral Associate for these two parishes. She then resumed her teaching role as a tutor in the English Tutoring Project in St. Louis, MO. In combination with these two assignments, parish work and tutoring, Sr. Joan was also appointed as the Vowed Commitment Director for ASC Candidates.
Sister Joan’s final ministries were in ASC community service. Following the congregation’s decision to establish an International Novitiate in Rome, Joan was appointed the first Assistant Director of this Novitiate. Back in the states, she began to tutor ASCs and international students before she took the position of Community Life Coordinator for the Adorers of the Blood of Christ at Benedictine Living Community, along with team member Sr. Angela Schrage, and later, Sr. Jane Gegg. She continued to tutor while serving in this role. Sister Joan also took the role of ASC Liaison with the BLCS staff.
Joan was a generous, compassionate person, one who was always on the lookout for what she could do for others. She kept in touch with friends from her teaching days, both the children and their parents. Over and above befriending the Burmese children to whom she taught English, she would often go to church where a Burmese priest was presiding, showing her solidarity and respect for their culture.
Sister Joan is survived by her brothers Jerry and Diane (Moser) Stoverink; Tom and Sally (Hefner) Stoverink and Larry and Cindy (Bates) Stoverink; her sister Mary (David) Boushie; nieces and nephews, and the ASC community.
She was preceded in death by her parents.
Visitation for Sr. Joan will be at 12:30 at Benedictine Living Community Chapel on Monday, March 16, 2026, for Joan’s family; at 12:45 for sisters and friends. Mass will begin at 1:30, with Father Stephen Lian presiding. After Mass, the Funeral Procession will travel to the ASC Cemetery in Ruma for burial.
Donations in Sr. Joan’s memory may be sent to the Adorers at 4233 Sulphur Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63109, or made online at www.adorers.org.