Born at St. Mary, Ky., on Nov. 14, 1914, Gonzaga was the daughter of Herman and Susan Thompson Logsdon, one of 13 children. When she was 5 years old, the family moved to Chicago, Ky. Gonzaga attended St Francis of Assisi School, St. Charles School, and Loretto School for her elementary education. For her secondary education she attended St. Francis High School in Chicago, and graduated from St. Charles High School. At the age of 21, she entered the novitiate at Mount Saint Joseph. Gonzaga received the Ursuline habit on August 14, 1936, and the name Sister Joseph Marian.
Sister Joseph Marian substituted at St. Mary Magdalene School and Sorgho while in the novitiate. Her first full-time teaching assignment was St Bernard Academy in Nebraska City, Neb., where she remained for six years and attended Creighton University at Omaha during the summers. Having attained her bachelor’s degree, she was then missioned to Holy Trinity School in Fredericktown, Ky., for 10 years, and to St. Paul High School in Leitchfield, Ky., for one year. During these summers she attended Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisc., and received her master’s degree. Sister Joseph Marian became the first dean of women at Brescia College in 1961. In 1963, she was elected mother superior of the Mount Saint Joseph Ursuline community. Sister Joseph Marian was chosen to represent the 14 autonomous Ursuline Communities of America at the first World Meeting of Ursulines in Rome in 1968, a meeting held at the invitation of Pope Paul VI for the dedication of the Church of St. Angela in Rome. On this occasion, she bad the privilege of a private audience with Pope Paul VI. Also during these years, she taught at Brescia College and served as the first chairperson of the Brescia College Board of Trustees. After serving nine years as mother superior, Sister Joseph Marian returned to the classroom in 1972, teaching English, Latin, speech, and drama at Marion County High School. In 1981, she was assigned to Mount Saint Joseph Academy until it closed in 1983. From 1983 to 1984, she conducted speech programs at Cathedral and Blessed Mother elementary schools in Owensboro.
Sister Joseph Marian returned to Mount Saint Joseph, and for eight years before her death, she was involved in various activities on campus and enjoyed correspondence and visits from her former students. Death came to her on November 3, 1992. Father Anthony Shonis celebrated the funeral Mass on Nov. 7 along with Father Pike Powell. Sister Joseph Marian’s remains are buried in the convent cemetery. Her sister, Sister Mary Charlene, OSU, preceded her in death.
NOTE: Sister Joseph Marian Logsdon was the third of three deaths at Mount Saint Joseph on November 3, 1992. The others were Sisters Nazaria Mattingly and James Marie Pfeffer. There had been a death also on November 2,1992, Sister Ann Frances Johnson. Wake services were held an November 3, 4, 5, and 6. Funerals and burials took place on November 4, 5, 6, and 7.