Sr. Dorothy Ann Rudolph

Little Falls, Minnesota............Sister Dorothy Ann Rudolph, 98, died on May 28, 2023, at St. Francis Convent, Little Falls, Minn.

A Memorial Service will be held on Wednesday, August 16 at 11:00 A.M. at the Franciscan Sisters Convent in Little Falls.  A visitation will be held from 10:00 A.M. until the hour of the service.

Dorothy Ann Rudolph was born on February 6, 1925, in Opole, Minn. to Richard and Martha (Kuklok) Rudolph. She was the fourth of 15 children. She was accepted as a Franciscan Sister on August 12, 1945, and received the name Sister Mary Sebastian. She later reverted to her baptismal name. She made her first profession of vows on August 12, 1947, and final vows on August 12, 1950. She was a Franciscan Sister for 77 years. 

She ministered in food service and hospitality and as a homemaker, home visitor and religious teacher. She served in Foley, Sauk Centre, Parkers Prairie, Elk River, Osakis, Browns Valley, Alexandria, Morris, Waite Park and Little Falls. 

Known to everyone as a woman who was warm, kind and generous, Sister Dorothy Ann’s hospitality was straight from the heart. She had a free spirit, ready to go and do whatever it would take to make a person feel loved and cared for.  She was the manager of the Clothes Review on the St. Francis Campus for 19 years.  here she welcomed all who came through the door and was especially attentive to the needs of those most vulnerable. For many years, she served as Eucharistic Minister at St. Mary’s Church in Little Falls. Sister Dorothy Ann was very proud of her Polish heritage and belonged to a group of Polish friends in Little Falls who shared Polish culture, food and friendship. She cherished the many relationships she had with people of the area and beyond.

Sister Dorothy Ann was preceded in death by her siblings: Peter, Theodore, Roderick, Aloysius, James, Francis, Raymond, Genevieve and Rita Nelson.  Survivors include siblings: Lorraine (Roy) Kraklau, Brainerd; Paul, Oakdale; Mary Weber and Loretta Warzecha, Sauk Rapids; and Joyce (Dannee) Kinny, Fifty Lakes; her nieces and nephews and many grand-great nieces and nephews; and her Franciscan Community.

Sister Dorothy Ann had given her body for research. She helped people all her life and wanted to continue to help people after she died. There will be a gathering to celebrate her life at an open house on Friday, June 2, 2023, from 1:00-3:00 p.m. in St. Francis Hall at St. Francis Convent. A memorial mass will be celebrated at a later date.

Donations to Franciscan Sisters ministries preferred.