Sister Mary Jo Toll (formerly Sister Mary Teresa)
March 22, 1944 – February 16, 2025
Professed August 18, 1964
“We are sent to be witnesses of Jesus Christ.” These words from the Constitutions of the Sisters of Notre Dame describe the life of Sister Mary Jo Toll (formerly Sister Mary Teresa), 80. Sister died at Rosary Care Center on February 16 after 61 years of religious life that created a kaleidoscope of rich, vibrant colors that became patterns for her adventurous spirit.
Born in Bellevue, Ohio, the second of four children, she attended Immaculate Conception School before becoming an aspirant at Notre Dame Academy, Toledo. Mary Jo’s strong determined personality found her on many paths to “What’s next?” after her vows in 1964.
Confident and forward-looking, Sister left her two years of elementary school teaching at Christ the King and St. Mary Schools in Toledo to begin teaching at Notre Dame Academy in 1968 specializing in French, social studies, and religion, as well as becoming a college instructor of political science at the Notre Dame Extension College. When she began teaching at St. Wendelin, Fostoria, in 1984 she made friends with women in a migrant camp. Discovering over 100 migrant camps in NW Ohio, she discerned the call to work with migrants full time.
Turn the kaleidoscope, and Sister Mary Jo is now the director of En Camino Ministry for the Diocese of Toledo and co-director in the Office of Hispanic Ministries. Sister broadened her outreach in 2007 when she became the Sisters of Notre Dame Representative as an NGO at the United Nations, a position she held from 2007-2015. There she advocated for women and girls through systemic change and empowerment critical for their economic and political rights. She also participated in a Forum of Catholic Inspired NGOs at New Challenges in a Globalizing World in Rome in 2010. Back in Ohio after a two-month sabbatical in Tucson, Sister continued in migrant and refugee outreach 2016-2023.
When Parkinson’s disease limited her, she moved to Rosary Care Center in Sylvania, where she resided for nearly three years before her death on February 16, 2025, less than two weeks after entering Hospice care. There her prayer and life-long welcoming of all people continued until her death, less than two weeks after entering Hospice.
Preceding her in death were her parents Charles and Dorothy Toll and siblings Michael and Anne Marie. She is survived by her sister Patricia (Norman) Fitzpatrick.
Services will be at the Sisters of Notre Dame Center at 5900 Davis Road, Whitehouse, OH on Saturday, March 1 with Sharing of Memories at 10:00 and Memorial Mass at 11:00.
May Sister Mary Jo rest in the arms of our good and loving God.
Memorial Mass: https://boxcast.tv/view/memorial-mass-for-sr-mary-jo-toll-snd-nyi2oq2sxjq14atccc6b
