Shimek, RSM

Sister Mary Ann Shimek, RSM, 81, died Sunday, July 31, 2011, at Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids after a lengthy illness. Services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, August 4, at the Sacred Heart Convent Chapel in Cedar Rapids by the Rev. David Ambrosy. Burial will follow the funeral service at Mount Calvary Cemetery in Cedar Rapids. Friends may call 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at Sacred Heart Convent in Cedar Rapids with a wake service at 7 p.m. Arrangements are with Stewart Baxter Funeral and Memorial Services.

Sister Mary Ann was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on April 8, 1930, the daughter of Joseph and Mary Navratil Shimek. She attended St. Wenceslaus School before her entrance in the Sisters of Mercy in 1949. She received her bachelor's degree in Elementary Education from Mount Mercy College and began her ministry teaching at St. Matthew's School in Kalispell, Mont. After a year, Sister Mary Ann returned to Iowa, to teach in parochial schools in Cedar Rapids, Anamosa, Waterloo, Oelwein and Fairfax. In 1971, Sister Mary Ann began teaching religious education in schools and parishes throughout the Dubuque Archdiocese. In 1984, she trained in nursing and worked as a home health aide at Mercy Hospital in Cedar Rapids. Sister Mary Ann headed to Paola, Kan., in 1987 to minister as a life skills trainer for mentally challenged adults at Lakemary. She returned to the Cedar Rapids area four years later to work as a private caregiver and then as a private child care provider until she retired in 2002. Sister Mary Ann was proud of her Czech heritage and enjoyed watching the children she cared for grow up.

Sister Mary Ann was preceded in death by her parents; a brother, Frank Shimek; and a sister-in-law, Mary Shimek.

In addition to the Sisters of Mercy, she is survived by her brother, Joseph Shimek of Cedar Rapids; sister, Helen (Don) Smith of Sun City, Ariz. and a sister-in-law, Luella Shimek of Cedar Rapids.

Memorials may be made to the Sisters of Mercy at 1125 Prairie Dr. NE, Cedar Rapids, IA 52402.