Obituary of Sr. Juliana Heisler
Sr. Juliana Heisler, a Sister of the Congregation of Our Lady of Sion, passed away on March 22, 2022 at Trinity Manor. She is lovingly remembered by her numerous nieces and nephews, her very extended family, her religious community and many, many friends. Sr. Juliana was predeceased by her parents John Heisler and Julia Leier and by her ten siblings.
She was born in Allan, Sk., and after 6 months her father, mother and uncle and the rest of her siblings, moved to Mildred, Sk., where they lived in a granary until they could cut logs to construct a log house. She went to high school first in Bruno, Sk., and then for grades 11 and 12 she went to Sion Academy in Prince Albert where she graduated. In August she entered the novitiate of the Sisters of Our Lady of Sion located in Saskatoon. After the novitiate she went to Teachers College in Saskatoon and began her ministry in education. From there, there was no turning back.
Sr. Juliana was a life-long educator, a classroom teacher, principal, educational consultant, parish life director and spiritual advisor to the Saskatoon CWL for many years. She was the first female diocesan spiritual advisor in Canada. Wherever she was, she had within her “a heart that was a big as the world” and beyond. In her classrooms and in her schools, children of all religious denominations were welcomed along with their own faith traditions affirmed and respected. Her passion for those who were impoverished and marginalized compelled her to do whatever was needed to be done to improve their lives and to open doors for them. She had a special commitment to refugees and went to great lengths for them which included welcoming them into her own home. In the midst of her very full life, she always found time for her older community members, doing what she could to improve their quality of life. And always, there was her birth family whom she loved dearly and who gave her so much joy – the many and various travels, the times at the lake, fishing, playing cards, barbeques – to mention a few of her favorite family pass times. Sr. Juliana will be greatly missed by her family, her community, and her many friends which she made during her long and very full life. She was a “force to be reckoned with” and leaves a large empty space in our lives.
The Sisters of Sion want to express their gratitude to Sr. Juliana’s nieces, Marge Loberg and Bernadette Bernisky, to the staff at Trinity Manor, to Dr. Moses, to Fr. David Tumback and the parishioners of St. Patrick’s, OverC and Saskatoon Funeral Home.
Prayers will be held on Monday evening, March 28, at 7:00PM at St Patrick’s Parish. The Liturgy of the Resurrection will be celebrated on Tuesday, March 29, at 11:00AM, also at St. Patrick’s with Fr. David Tumback presiding. There will be a luncheon at the church immediately after the liturgy followed by the interment at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Sisters of Sion new section. The funeral liturgy will be live streamed. The link to view the livestream will be found on this obituary page. The link will be live a few minutes prior to the beginning of the Funeral Mass.
Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Sr Juliana
Heisler 1931 2022..
Death notice for the town of: Saskatoon, Province: Saskatchewan
Our sincere condolences to all of her relatives and friends, especially Marge and Bernie. She was a very special lady….wise, passionate, compassionate, humorous, dedicated, and caring.
I (Anton) first became more closely acquainted with her when we were both teaching at St. Gorretti. We were young and full of conviction that what we were doing really could make a difference.
We spent much time sharing:
– our classroom experiences, good and troublesome.
– our views on what administration did well and what they
Should improve on and how to do it.
– our views on religion.
– of course a daily joke or uplifting story.
She was dedicated to using her talents to try to improve those entrusted to her care and those who cared for them.
As often happens, our paths led us in different directions, but they still sometimes crossed and we enjoyed our visits. On one occasion, Sister gave us a ride to pick up our vehicle which was at a garage for some repair. As she went speeding through the city, passing vehicles and running the odd yellow light, we came to understand why some had labelled her as “the Flying Nun”.
Many people have benefited directly and indirectly from her dedication and efforts. May she Rest In Peace knowing that a good portion of her “world” is better for her having been here.