Date of Birth:
Wednesday, May 3, 1939
Date of Death:
Saturday, January 18, 2025
Age:
85 years old

Sister Madonna Winkels

Sister Madonna Winkels, a Poor Clare of Rochester, Minnesota, died at Cottagewood Senior Communities on January 18, 2025.

Madonna Winkels was born May 3, 1939, in Little Cedar, Iowa to Ralph Winkels and Olivia Weber. After graduating from high school, she studied practical nursing at Saint Marys Hospital before entering the Poor Clare Monastery in Bloomington, Minnesota, in September of 1959. She professed final vows in May 1964. Sister Madonna went to Korea, in 1969, as one of the founding Sisters of a new monastery on Jeju Island. In 2022, she returned to the Poor Clare community at Assisi Heights in Rochester. She is remembered for her optimistic disposition, her love of animals and the pleasure of being outdoors.

Sr. Madonna is preceded in death by her parents and four brothers. She is survived by two sisters and one brother, along with her Poor Clare Sisters, and her nieces and nephews.

A Funeral Liturgy will be at Assisi Heights, 1001 14th St. NW, Rochester, on Wednesday, January 29, 2025, at 11:00 am with visitation beginning at 9:30 am. To view the Funeral Liturgy, use this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88367423126.

Burial will be at Resurrection Cemetery, Mendota Heights, Minnesota, that same day at 3:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, please give donations to the charity of your choice.