ANNE GODINE, CSJ
May 20, 1920-November 14, 2009
It is good to sing praises to our God;
for God is gracious, and a song of praise is fitting.
Psalm 147:1
From her earliest days until the day of her death love of music was part of Anne Godine’s life.
Anne was born in Baltimore, Maryland on May 20, 1920 to George Godine of New York City and Kathryn Anne Grotherton from Gloucester, Massachusetts. A sister Janice followed her into the Godine family. The family lived in Washington, D.C. until Anne was nine and then moved to St. Louis, to Denver, and then to St. Paul. Anne attended high school at St. Joseph’s Academy where she “fell in love with the Sisters of St. Joseph.”
After her graduation Anne entered the St. Joseph Novitiate in 1938 where she received the habit and the name Sister St. Bernadette in 1939. She made her first vows in 1941 and her final vows in 1944.
For the next 32 years she taught elementary grades from second through sixth, meanwhile earning her bachelor’s degree from St. Catherine’s College in 1955. That same summer she began her master’s degree in elementary education at Marquette University in Milwaukee and the next six summers “were a delight!” She enjoyed her studies as she enjoyed all of life!
A new phase of her life began in 1959 when she was assigned to be principal and eighth grade teacher at St. Mary’s School in Grand Forks. Those years brought many changes for Sister St. Bernadette including a return to her baptismal name and the adoption of modern dress. Anne served as superior and teacher at St. Thomas Apostle School in Minneapolis and at St. Joseph’s in Hopkins before shifting her focus to music librarianship.
After a summer volunteering in the library at St. Catherine’s College she discovered that she “loved library work and there were even libraries that specialized in music librarianship.” She turned to that profession, earning an MS in LS from the library school at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio in 1975.
During her library study in Ohio, she had acquired a cat, Musette. Upon returning to St. Paul in 1975, she found a group of sisters to live with on Highland Parkway who welcomed both Anne and the cat.
She happily served at CSC as music librarian until 1988. In 1983 she had had the opportunity for a sabbatical leave with study at Oxford University and visits to music libraries in Great Britain and Europe. These years she found very enriching.
But “the best job” of her life came in 1989 when she was appointed Director of Community Living at Bethany Convent, a position she held for six years. According to Sister Dolore Rochon, Bethany administrator at the time, Sister Anne "was hospitable to all, cordial, and extremely kind.” At the time of her golden jubilee as a CSJ Anne wrote of “the wonderful opportunities” that had come to her. Her time working at Bethany gave her “an opportunity to serve great women from whom I constantly learned throughout my life.”
At the end of her six-year term as Bethany director Anne took on responsibility for the Bethany library, built it up and staffed it for a number of years.
She then moved to Bethany as a resident when she was 82 and continued to enjoy life as she always had, dressing nicely and enjoying parties. There was rarely an outing she did not participate in, even when in recent months she had to be transported in a wheel chair.
Anne truly loved life and people. And she was always ready to learn more. She continued to enjoy reading and conversation. The French language, art, and music, especially opera, nourished her soul.
In assessing her life she listed the “wonderful major decisions” she had made: at age nine to become a Catholic, at age 18 to enter the convent, and at age 82 to move to Bethany. For Anne life was always “wonderful.”
Anne died quietly on the evening of November 14. Mass of Christian burial was celebrated on November 19, followed by burial at Resurrection Cemetery.
She was preceded in death by her parents and her sister Janice Godine Blackburn. She is survived by her brother-in-law Edward Blackburn, nieces and nephews, other relatives close friends, and the Sisters of St. Joseph and consociates.
May she rest in peace.
