Wrentham’s first Novice Mistress, she died suddenly and unexpectedly only seven months after the foundation, at St. Joseph’s Hospital, Providence, Rhode Island. The fledgling community was shocked and disheartened, but with loving trust accepted God’s will. As the years passed and many young Americans sought admission to Cistercian life at Wrentham,
Dom Edward Futterer voiced what was evident to all: “Mother St. John was the seed that died to bear much fruit.”