March 13, 1935 — October 5, 2026
Sister Jane Marie, Mary Jane Lebiedzinski, was born March 13, 1935 in South Bend, Indiana, to Steve Lebiedzinski and Lillian Kubiak. The youngest of three children, Sister had two older brothers: Richard, who died in 1970, and Steve Jr., who died in 2013.
Sister was Baptized and received her First Holy Communion and Confirmation at St. Adalbert Church in South Bend.
She attended St. Adalbert Grade School, taught by the Felician Sisters, and St. Joseph Academy, her high school, taught by the Holy Cross Sisters.
The Felician Sisters always remained close to her heart, and she was accepted into the Congregation on June 21, 1953. After a year of Postulancy, Sister became a Novice and was given the name of Sister Mary Conceptia (years later, she changed her name to Sister Jane Marie). Sister pronounced her first vows in 1955 and her final vows in 1962.
Sister continued her education, receiving a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Madonna (College) University in 1960, and a master’s degree in Sociology from Notre Dame University in 1967.
Sister spent the next twenty-two years as a teacher and principal in various grade schools in Michigan and Indiana.
She spent four years as a child care supervisor at St. Joseph Home in Jackson, and then twenty-nine years as administrator of St. Francis Home in Saginaw. In 2008, Sister became the administrator of Maryville Retreat Center in Holly, serving there for the next ten years.
In July 2018, Sister Jane Marie was assigned to live in community at St. Joseph Care Center, Livonia. She helped in various areas where needed, and continued her volunteer work of many years for the poor of Appalachia.
Sister Jane Marie passed away on Monday, October 5, 2026. A Mass of Christian Burial took place at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, October 9, 2026. Burial was at the Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Southfield, MI.
Sister is survived by five nieces, a nephew (her godchild), and several great and great-great nieces and nephews.
