Sister Joan McCann, OP, died April 9, 2026, at the Racine Dominican Motherhouse, Siena Center, Racine, Wis. Her wake and remembering service will be held Saturday, May 16 at 9:15 a.m. in Siena Chapel at the Siena Center followed by her Funeral Mass at 10:30 a.m. Maresh-Meredith & Acklam Funeral Home of Racine is handling arrangements.  

Joan was born on Aug. 16, 1940, to Cecilia (Rowley) and Robert McCann in Chicago, Ill. She professed vows with the Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa in 1961 and received the religious name Sister Ternan. She earned her BA in education from Edgewood College, Madison, Wis.; an MEd in the teaching of mathematics from Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago; and an MEd in education management and supervision from Loyola College-Maryland, Baltimore, Md.   

Sr. Joan’s ministry was dedicated to education, administration, and consultancy. She taught at Sacred Heart School, Washington, D.C.; St. Mary School and St. Joseph School, Freeport, Ill.; St. Dennis School, Madison; St. Mary School, Evanston, Ill.; SS. Faith, Hope, and Charity School, Winnetka, Ill.; and St. Rose of Lima School, Baltimore, Md., where she also served as principal. She then served in the Archdiocesan Office of Education as assistant superintendent, Atlanta, Ga. In 1988, Sr. Joan and Sr. Mary-beth Beres, an Adrian Dominican Sister, founded Leadership Systems, a nonprofit consulting ministry serving religious congregations, social service organizations, and schools. Following that ministry, Sr. Joan served the Sinsinawa Dominican Congregation as vicaress provincial of the Southern Province. She then moved to Clarkston, Ga., and was vicar for consecrated life for the Archdiocese of Atlanta. Sr. Joan retired in 2010 and volunteered in the Oak Lawn, Ill., area until 2024 when she moved to Stair Crest, a senior living community in Muskego, Wis., where she resided with over 90 of her Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters. In addition to the many ways Sr. Joan ministered to others, also was a master gardener with a deep appreciation of beauty, and she loved to cook! 

Sr. Joan was preceded in death by her parents and a brother, James McCann. She is survived by three sisters, Marjorie Kayser, Alice McCann, and Nancy Tegtmeyer; and her Dominican Sisters. Memorials may be made to the Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa, 585 Cty. Rd. Z, Sinsinawa, Wis., or given online at www.sinsinawa.org/donate