2004
In Memoria
Sister Aquinas Schaecher
 Sister Mary Aquinas (Irene Margaret) Schaecher,
91, died peacefully at the Monastery of St. Gertrude, Cottonwood, ID on
November 25, 2004.
She was born in Cottonwood on June 25, 1913, the
youngest child of Theodore and Catherine Beller Schaecher. She entered
the Monastery of St. Gertrude where she made her monastic profession as
a Benedictine Sister on August 27, 1931.
A passionate life-long learner herself, Sister
Aquinas relished teaching and was a favorite among many students. She
taught at Guardian Angel School in Colton, WA, and in Idaho brought her
creative educational talents to St. Gertrude’s Academy and St. Joseph’s
School in Cottonwood, St. Maries Academy in St. Maries, St. Paul’s
School in Nampa, St. Anthony’s School in Nezperce, the Keuterville and
Greencreek schools, and St. Mary’s School in Boise.
In the early 1970’s she assisted the Benedictine
Sisters in Covington, LA as they amalgamated with the Benedictine
community in Fort Smith, AR. She taught for a year in Bogota, Colombia,
with Benedictine Sisters from St. Gertrude’s and several other US
communities who served at Colegio San Carlos which the Benedictine monks
from Richardton, ND, still operate there. For over 15 years she poured
out her compassion with the migrant workers in Caldwell, ID, the poor in
Pocatello, ID, the homeless in Seattle, an elderly friend in St. Maries,
ID, and members of the Nezperce Tribe in Lapwai, ID. Among her varied
careers she also served at the monastery as Director of Novices and
Sisters in Temporary Profession and as Director of Maintenance. She
loved to care for the flower gardens and the monastery cats.
Sister Aquinas was preceded in death by her
parents, her brothers Lawrence and Ray Schaecher, and her sisters
Gertrude Albers, Sister Mary Rose and Sister Mary Assumpta. She is
survived by her monastic community and her nieces and nephews.
A Vigil Service for her was held in the Monastery
Chapel on November 28 at 7:00 p.m. . The Mass of Christian Burial was
celebrated for her on November 29 at 10:00 a.m., also in the Monastery
Chapel with Fr. Meinrad Schallberger, OSB, Chaplain at the Monastery,
presiding and Prioress Jean Lalande, OSB, giving the reflections.
The funeral was under the direction of Uhlorn
Funeral Home in Cottonwood.
Memorials may be made to the Monastery of St.
Gertrude, 465 Keuterville Road, Cottonwood, ID 83522-5183.
 Sister Stephanie Marie (Joan) Wardle, 61, died
January 31, 2004, at St. Mary’s Hospital in Cottonwood, ID.
She was born April 18, 1942, to Bud Jennings and
Cecilia Marie Thinnes Wardle in Ogden, UT. Following her graduation from
Utah’s Weber State College, Ms. Wardle taught school until she joined
the Monastery of St. Gertrude in Cottonwood, ID in 1966. There she made
her Profession as Sister Stephanie Marie in 1968.
Sister Stephanie served in a broad array of
ministries which included teaching in Catholic schools in Cottonwood and
Lewiston, directing youth ministry in Boise and Religious Education
Programs in Rupert, ID, and serving as Pastoral Associate in Lava Hot
Springs and Soda Springs, ID.
After earning certification from Seattle
University as a drug and alcohol counselor she served for 19 years as
counselor and director at drug and alcohol recovery centers in Boise,
Nampa and Caldwell, ID. She also established and managed a soup kitchen
at the Community Christian Center in Garden City, ID. The last seven
years she worked in Mission Services at St. Mary’s Hospital in
Cottonwood, ID and Clearwater Valley Hospital in Orofino, ID.
A ministry highlight for her was taking the youth
group from Sacred Heart Parish in Boise to see Pope John Paul II during
his papal tour of the United State in 1987. The youth joined 100,000
others near Monterey, CA, for a Mass celebrated by the pope.
Sister Stephanie served four years as Vocations
Director for St. Gertrude’s and was a popular retreat director who was
trained in spiritual direction at the Benedictine community in Pecos,
NM.
The Idaho Statesman featured Sister
Stephanie in “Portrait of a Distinguished Citizen” in 1983 and the Idaho
Board of Alcohol and Drugs selected her “Counselor of the Year” in 1990.
Most people who knew Sister
Stephanie praise her creativity, perseverance, courage, intelligence,
faith, cheerfulness, zest for life and commitment to acting on behalf of
the poor.
She was preceded in death by her
mother, and is survived by her monastic community and by her father and
her two brothers Robert and Tim, both of Ogden, and their families.
A vigil service for Sister
Stephanie was at 7:00pm on February 6 in the monastery chapel. A Mass
of Christian Burial was celebrated at 1:30 pm on February 7 also in the
chapel. Fr. Meinrad Schallberger, OSB, was presider and Prioress Jean
Lalande gave the reflections.
Funeral arrangements were under
the direction of Uhlorn Funeral Home in Cottonwood.
Memorials may be made to the
Monastery of St. Gertrude, 465 Keuterville Road, Cottonwood, ID
83522-5183.
 Sister Marcella (Clementine
Elizabeth) Riener, 95, died January 28, 2004, at the Monastery of St.
Gertrude in Cottonwood, ID. She was born October 11, 1908, to John and
Mary Hutfles Riener, in Greencreek, ID.
She joined the Monastery of St.
Gertrude in 1927 where she made her Monastic Profession two years later.
She was a much-loved teacher in
Chewelah and Colton, WA and in Ferdinand, Genesee, St. Maries,
Keuterville, Cottonwood, Greencreek, Grangeville, Nampa, Pocatello, and
Rupert, Idaho. In her retirement she visited patients in the hospital
and sewed clothes for the poor and for the pregnancy counseling center
in Lewiston. The Pregnancy Center presented her a plaque of appreciation
during her 90th birthday party.
Strong and gentle, prayerful and
industrious, gracious and humorous, smiling and open-minded are words
frequently used to describe Sr. Marcella. She loved being a Benedictine
Sister and was featured in the community's vocation appeal because she
had told Prioress Jean Lalande that "the only thing I want for my future
and our future is that new women will answer God's call to come to the
monastery and learn to love our way of life." She also loved her family
heritage and liked to share that she was born in a homestead house on
the Nez Perce Reservation near Greencreek.
She was preceded in death by her
parents and her siblings Clem, Joe, Carl, George, Elizabeth Wessels,
Mary Baerlocher, Teresa Schmidt, Anastasia Schmidt, and Magdalene (Sr.
Celestine). She is survived by her monastic community and numerous
nieces and nephews with whom she remained very close.
A Vigil Service for Sr. Marcella was
held in the Monastery chapel at 7:00 pm on Tuesday, February 3, 2004.
The Mass of Christian Burial was held on Wednesday, February 4, 1:30 pm,
also in the chapel. Sr. Marcella's nephew, Fr. Joseph Schmidt, presided,
and Chaplain Meinrad Schallberger, OSB, assisted. Sr. Marcella's niece,
Sr. Margie Schmidt, OSB, gave the reflections.
Funeral arrangements were under the
direction of Uhlorn Funeral Home in Cottonwood.
Memorials may be made to the
Monastery of St. Gertrude, 465 Keuterville Road, Cottonwood, ID
83522-5183.
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