Age 86
A native of Kansas City, Missouri, Sister Johanna Burnell was born on August 24, 1938. Her parents, Samuel and Johanna (Manley) Burnell named her Rita Imelda.
Rita became acquainted with the Sisters of Mercy at a young age. They were her teachers in elementary and high school. Five years after graduating from Glennon High School in Kansas City, she traveled to Omaha, Nebraska, to enter the religious community. There she received her religious name: Sister Johanna.
For more than six decades, Johanna contributed her time and remarkable talents as an educator. She served as an elementary teacher in Catholic schools in Nebraska and Missouri. For 13 years, she was the principal at St. Peter Grade School in Kansas City. In 1984, the Diocese of Kansas City named her associate superintendent of schools.
Johanna left Kansas City in 1988 to become the first president of Mercy High School in Omaha. In this newly created position, she shared leadership responsibilities with the principal, Carolyn Jaworski. Johanna’s position specifically concentrated on school awareness, parents, and the school’s board and advancement activities.
It was a challenging time for the all-girls school; Mercy High was in danger of closing. During Johanna’s 21 years as president, she was a creative innovator. She laid the foundation for more strategic leadership, recruited business leaders and alumnae to the board, and increased development and fundraising activities. She revamped the school’s negotiated tuition program, enabling hundreds of families to provide opportunities for their daughters who otherwise could not afford to attend. Described as “a morally just, confidential, individual covenant between Mercy and each family, respecting each family’s needs and income, and providing equal access,” the program has become a successful, enduring part of Mercy High School.
A no-nonsense and kind-hearted educator, Johanna also possessed a wry sense of humor that endeared her to faculty and students alike. After her retirement in 2009, she not only kept in touch with students and their families but also continued to support the mission of Mercy High School in a variety of ways.
In 2020, Johanna received Mercy High School’s highest honor, the Cor Misericordiae Award, in recognition of her indelible legacy and commitment to the education of women.
Johanna also served the Sisters of Mercy as development director for Mercy Volunteer Corps. She was a member of the Mercy Secondary Education Association and several other community committees and work groups. Johanna held positions on the boards of College of Saint Mary in Omaha and Mount Saint Mary Academy in Little Rock, Arkansas.