A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated Sept. 29 for Ursuline Sister Ignatius Gieske, 85, at St. Ursula Convent Chapel in Cincinnati. She died Sept. 28 at Mercy St. Theresa Center in Mariemont.

A Cincinnati native, Sister Ignatius entered the Ursulines of Cincinnati in 1943, following in the footsteps of her older sibling, Sister Mary Paul Gieske. After obtaining a master’s degree in educational administration at Xavier University, Sister Ignatius went on to teach at Our Lady of Visitation School and St. Ursula Academy, where she also served as principal from 1968-1975. Sister Ignatius particularly enjoyed teaching Spanish and spent some time in Mexico teaching English and perfecting her grasp of Spanish. She later continued her education in health care and gerontology and served as a chaplain at Hospice of Cincinnati.

Sister Ignatius was preceded in death by three days by her sister, Sister Mary Paul. She is survived by her sisters, Claire Kunkel and Paula Gross.

Interment was in Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Montgomery.

Sister Mary Paul Gieske

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated Sept. 29 for Ursuline Sister Mary Paul Gieske, 87, at St. Ursula Convent Chapel in Cincinnati. She died Sept. 25 at Mercy St. Theresa Center in Mariemont.

A Cincinnati native, Sister Mary Paul entered the Ursulines of Cincinnati in 1935. Her educational ministry included assignments at St. Ursula Academy, the former Holy Name School in Mt. Auburn and All Saints School in Montgomery, where she served as the school’s first principal. She particularly enjoyed teaching French to the high school and elementary school students. Sister Mary Paul also served the congregation as archivist, writing numerous accounts about the early history of the order and traveling to other Ursuline communities throughout the United States and Europe to assist in her work.

She is survived by her sisters, Claire Kunkel and Paula Gross.

Interment was in Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Montgomery.

Sister Marie Funni

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated Oct. 15 for Sister of Charity Marie (Maria Philomena) Funni at the Sisters of Charity Motherhouse chapel in Mount St. Joseph. She died Oct. 11 at Mother Margaret Hall at the age of 91.

A native of Lima, Ohio, she earned a bachelor’s degree from the College of Mount St. Joseph and a master’s in education from the University of Detroit. She entered the congregation in 1934 and began her teaching ministry at St. Anthony School in Cincinnati in 1937. She served for more than 43 years in the following archdiocesan schools: St. Boniface in Cincinnati, 1939-42; Sacred Heart in Dayton, 1942-43; St. Raphael in Springfield, 1943-48; Catholic Central in Springfield, 195761; Carroll High School in Dayton, 1961-62; St. Joseph Commercial School in Dayton, 1962-64, and Alter High School in Dayton, 1964-71.

Sister Marie served as secretary for the congregation’s Dayton Regional Office from 1977-85. She returned to the classroom as a part-time teacher and tutor at Holy Angels School in Sidney from 1985-87. She retired to St. Joseph Home in Cincinnati in 1987 and to the motherhouse in 2000.

She is survived by her sisters, Dorothy Altenbach and Pauline Foust.

Interment was in the motherhouse cemetery.