Born on June 13, 1921, Sister Mary Jamesetta Krafty was given the gift of long life and lived the century with vibrancy, humor and grace. Baptized Roseline Mary, she was the youngest of nine children born to Michael and Helena (Lilly) Krafty in the village of Venice, Ohio.
Sister Mary Jamesetta professed vows with the Sisters of Notre Dame in 1941, joining her older sibling Sister Mary Walter Krafty. The first few years of ministry found her a cook for the novices in the community. She received a BA in Education at Mary Manse College and began teaching grades 3 through 8 in Monroeville, Maumee, Norwalk, Delphos, Bellevue, and Napoleon. Within ten years she became a principal with the dual role of teacher at Sacred Heart and St. Michael schools, Toledo; St. Mary School, Leipsic; and St. Augustine School, Napoleon.
Her missionary heart led her to Papua New Guinea for eleven years (1967-72) when she taught Standard 6 in Banz and 1993-99 when she assisted in the Vocation Program.
In the interim between her times as a missionary, Sister Jamesetta ministered at St. Joseph School in Erie, Michigan; St. Mary School, Norwalk; Mary Immaculate School and Notre Dame Academy, Toledo; and in a leadership role at Lial Convent in Whitehouse, Ohio. Returning from Papua New Guinea permanently, Sister Jamesetta undertook volunteer ministry at St. Michael Parish in Toledo in 1999 and became pastoral minister there in 2004 through 2015. Sister kept in contact with many parishioners from St. Michael Parish for the rest of her life, just one of the many ways she shared her joy, laughter, and attentiveness to others.
Sister is preceded in death by her parents and all her siblings–brothers John, Thomas, William, James and sisters Irene (Sister Mary Walter, SND), Margaret, Helen, and Esther. She will be greatly missed by her relatives and her religious community.