Sister Evelyn Strei, age 96, died peacefully on June 12, 2025 at Villa St Vincent Nursing Home, Crookston, MN.
Sister Evelyn was born was born March 24, 1929, in Big Stone City, South Dakota, the sixth of twelve children of Joseph and Cecilia (Karels) Strei. She was baptized Louise Jean and called Lou Jean by her family.
Lou Jean attended Saint Joseph’s Grade School in Rosen, MN. She recalled that when she was in eighth grade, her pastor, Father Geisenkoetter, took the girls to visit the Mount in Crookston. She wrote, “I was impressed by the prayerful atmosphere and the community spirit.” She received her high school education at Mount Saint Benedict Academy.
Sister Evelyn recalled reading the vocation pamphlet “Follow me” when she was a high school junior. As a senior, Lou Jean entered the Mount Saint Benedict Monastery on January 3, 1948. She received the Benedictine habit and the name Sister Evelyn on July 4, 1948. She took her first vows on July 5, 1949. She made her final monastic profession on July 11, 1952.
Sister Evelyn received a bachelor’s degree in education from Saint Catherine’s University in Saint Paul and a master’s degree in theology from Mount Angel Seminary in Mount Angel, OR.
Sister Evelyn was known as an excellent primary teacher. She taught at Sacred Heart in East Grand Forks, Saint Joseph’s in Red Lake Falls, Saint Philip’s in Bemidji, Saint Jude’s in Mahtomedi, Saint Francis Xavier in Benson, Saint Joseph’s in Moorhead, Saint Jude’s in Osseo, and Cathedral in Crookston. After 27 years in the classroom, Sister Evelyn became a parish minister in Saint Dominic’s in Northfield, MN, Saint Boniface’s in Hastings, MN and Saint Elizabeth’s in Dilworth, MN. Sister Evelyn also served in spirituality ministries at Manna House of Prayer in Concordia, KS, and Mount Saint Benedict Center. She also served in an ecumenical Benedictine community at Saint Benedict Center in Madison, WI. In addition to these ministries, Sister assisted in the archives at Mount Saint Benedict in her later years.
Most important in her life were the annual retreats which included a thirty-day retreat, private directed retreats and hermit retreats. Sister Evelyn found nature her guide into creation spirituality. She loved reading, walking outdoors, art appreciation and travel.
Reflecting on her years in the monastic community, Sister Evelyn wrote. “I saw my life as a journey going from place to place serving God’s people. Over the years, I have come to realize that the monastic journey is an inner journey of the heart, daily seeing the marvelous works of a faithful God in community and all of creation. “
Sister Evelyn is preceded in death by her parents, Joseph Peter Strei and Cecelia Strei, brothers Thomas, Joseph, Kenneth, and Rev. Jerome Strei, and by sisters Cleora Strei, Phyllis Muller, Rosemary Kelzer, and Eunice Schmieg. She is survived by brothers Donald and Gerald, her sister Eileen, and by many nieces and nephews and by the Sisters of Saint Benedict of Crookston.
Sister Luella (Cyrilla) Walsh passed away on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, the Feast of Epiphany, in Rio Grande City, at the age of 97.
She was born on Nov. 13, 1927, in Greenbush, Minnesota, the second of 11 children of James Patrick Walsh and Helen Theresa (Witzman) Walsh. Her parents named her Luella Theresa Walsh at her baptism.
She attended Rural School, District #18 in Badger, Minnesota for her elementary education. She went on to graduate from Badger High School. Sister Luella’s family supported her desire to become a sister. Her mother’s oldest sister was a member of the Sisters of St. Benedict in St. Joseph, Minnesota, and her mother prayed that one of her daughters would become a sister. Luella entered Mount St. Benedict Monastery on Jan. 6, 1945. When Luella became a novice on July 11, 1945, she received the name Sister Cyrilla. She made her first profession on July 11, 1946, and her final profession on July 16, 1949. She later resumed her baptismal name and was known as Sister Luella.
Sister Luella received a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the College of St. Catherine, in St. Paul, Minnesota, a master’s certificate in religious education from the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, Minnesota, Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) at Valley Baptist Hospital, in Harlingen, and Certification with National Association of Catholic Chaplains (NACC).
Sister Luella’s ministry took some twists and turn. From 1946‐1971, she taught elementary school classes in many Catholic schools in Minnesota: St. Michael’s in Mahnomen, Cathedral in Crookston, St. Francis in Moorhead, St. Bernard’s in Thief River Falls, St. Joseph’s in Rosen, Holy Rosary in Detroit Lakes, St. Joseph’s in Red Lake Falls, and Assumption in Barnesville. She then turned her attention to teaching in public schools: Asherton Independent School in Asherton, Texas and public schools of Harlingen.
Sister Luella made a major change in ministry when she began clinical pastoral education in Harlingen and Weslaco. In 1987 she began serving as a hospital chaplain at Knapp Hospital in Weslaco.
From 1989 to 1994, she worked with the Joachim and Ann (Elderly Program) in Escobares, at Sacred Heart Church. Beginning in 1995, Sister Luella and Sisters Nancy Boushey and Fran Solum petitioned the Crookston Benedictines to establish the Good Shepherd Monastery near Rio Grande City. Shortly afterward, the sisters decided to quit their jobs and devote their entire lives to full-time monastic life. Sister Luella’s ministry included the director of Oblates, hospitality provider for retreats, and sacristan.
Sister Luella was preceded in death by her parents and her siblings Mary Munsrud, Sarah Johnson, Pauline (Polly) Shafer, Charles Walsh (deceased at 6 weeks), Jim Walsh, Allen Walsh, George Walsh. She is survived by siblings, Jeanette Eklund, Leonard Walsh, many nieces and nephews, and the Sisters of St. Benedict of Crookston and Good Shepherd Monastery in Starr County, TX!
Outstanding traits of Sister Luella were that of her great love for the Benedictine way of life, presence at all prayer times and also her love for people as expressed in her warm hospitality!
Additional Obituary for sister Luella can be found on the Sanchez Funeral Home’s website by clicking on this link.
Sister Carol Jean Schroeder, age 95, died on December 3, 2024 at Villa St. Vincent, Crookston, Minnesota. She was born on July 8, 1929, in Farming, MN, the seventh of eight children of William Schroeder and Elizabeth Behnen Schroeder. They named her Angela Elizabeth at her baptism.
Angela received her elementary education at Popple Grove School in Becker County, MN, and her secondary education at Park Rapids High School, Park Rapids, MN.
Angela entered Mount Saint Benedict Monastery on September 1, 1949. On April 10, 1950, she received the Benedictine habit and the name Sister Carol Jean. She made her first monastic profession on July 12, 1951, and her final profession on July 12, 1944.
Sister Carol Jean attributed her vocation in her words “to relatives, primarily my home and ultimately my pastor. My mother and father had a deep respect for religious life.”
Sister Carol Jean received her degree from Minnesota State University in Moorhead, MN, and also studied at Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, MO, the University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND, and Saint Thomas University, Saint Paul, MN.
Sister Carol Jean made impressive use of each of her gifts as a secretary, office manager, and accountant. She served in the business office of St. Mary’s Hospital, Detroit Lakes, MN and for eleven years as treasurer at Mount Saint Benedict Monastery. She became the Assistant Administrator of St. Francis Residence, Crookston as it transitioned to become Villa St. Vincent/The Summit eldercare facility.
Over the years, Sister Carol Jean served as secretary to the Director of Education for the Archdiocese of Saint Paul/Minneapolis, secretary to the Director of the Sisters’ National Vocation Conference in Chicago, and secretary to the Director of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious in Silver Spring, MD. The Director of the Sisters’ National Vocation Conference commented that Sister Carol Jean was the best secretary she ever had.
Sister Carol Jean had a gift for making tatted rosaries which graced the arm of many brides on their wedding day.
Sister Carol Jean was preceded in death by her parents William Schroeder and Elizabeth Behnen Schroeder, and siblings: Mrs. Ambrose Maehren (Lydia), Albert Schroeder, Veronica Pasek, Joseph Schroeder, Edward Schroeder, and Martha Gartner. Her brother Alex, many nieces and nephews, and the Sisters of Saint Benedict survive her.
Prayer Service: 11:00 a.m., December 12 in Sacred Heart Chapel, Mount Saint Benedict, Crookston, MN.
Mass of Christian Burial: December 12, 2:00 p.m. in Sacred Heart Chapel, Mount Saint Benedict, Crookston, MN. Celebrant: Bishop Andrew Cozzens. Honorary Casket Bearers: Sisters of Mount Saint Benedict Monastery.
Internment: Mount Saint Benedict Cemetery, spring 2025.
Arrangements by Stenshoel-Houske Funeral Home, Crookston, MN.
Sister Marietta Geray, age 93, died peacefully on November 28, 2024 at St. Benedict’s Care Center in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Sister Marietta Geray was born on September 11, 1931, in Beaulieu, the second of the eleven children of Joseph Frederick Geray and Mary Margaret (Kaster) Geray. At her baptism, her parents named her Hyacinth Rosa Geray.
She began her education at Ahmann School, the country school near her home. For high school, she attended Mount Saint Benedict Academy.
In 1950 she entered Mount Saint Benedict Monastery, and on January 8, 1951, received the Benedictine habit and the name Sister Marietta. She made her final monastic profession on July 11, 1955.
Sister Marietta received a bachelor’s degree from the College of Saint Theresa in Winona and a master’s degree from the University of Minnesota and the University of Dayton in Dayton, OH.
Sister Marietta served as an elementary school teacher in Cathedral School, Crookston; Assumption School, Barnesville; St. Philip’s School, Bemidji; and Holy Rosary, Detroit Lakes, MN. She then worked with high school students as a German teacher and a prefect at Mount Saint Benedict Academy, and as a German and religion teacher and assistant principal at Sacred Heart High School in East Grand Forks.
Following this part of her teaching ministry, Sister Marietta enrolled as a graduate student at the University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio. She taught ethics to students at the university and served as an administrative assistant in the religion department. After leaving the university, Sister Marietta lectured in ethics at the University of Minnesota Crookston, the Moorhead Technical College and the University of Mary Fargo.
Beginning in 2011, Sister Marietta moved to Benedict Village in Saint Cloud, MN. While as a resident of Benedict Village, Sister Marietta established a handbell/chime choir which remains active to this day. She regularly assisted with the liturgy there. When consulted, she facilitated spiritual growth for the Benedict Village community members. Avid computer user and researcher up until the end. She gathered information and participated in online discussion groups outside of her residence.
Sister Marietta was very devoted to the care of her sister, Vivian, while Vivian was a resident of St Cloud. She cherished her deep connections with her sister, Marie, and many of her nieces and nephews.
She is preceded in death by her parents, by sisters Rita Olson, Magdalen Symonds, Aria Ronayne, Viviana Beuning and Geraldine Lukas. She is survived by siblings Marie (Gerald) Plante, Veronica Placek, Sandra (Alquin) Tschida, Joseph Geray, Jr.. Reinald Geray, many nieces and nephews and the Sisters of Mount Saint Benedict Monastery.
Services Friday, May 9, 2025 at Mount Saint Benedict Monastery, Crookston, MN.
Eulogy: 1:30 p.m. in Sacred Heart Chapel.
Mass of Christian Burial: 2:00 p.m. in Sacred Heart Chapel. Celebrant: Fr. David Super. Honorary Casket Bearers: Sisters of Mount Saint Benedict Monastery.
Internment in Mount Saint Benedict Cemetery followed by reception in dining room with sharing of memories.
Arrangements by Daniel Funeral Home, St. Cloud, Minnesota.
Sister Bernadette Kostrzewski, age 92, died on November 15, 2024 at Villa St. Vincent Nursing Home, Crookston, MN.
Sister Bernadette entered this world as Rosalie, the youngest of eleven children. She was born on February 18, 1932. Both of her parents, William and Anna (Sczcpanski) Kostrzewski, were born in Poland and came to the United States with their families as young children. The family lived on a farm near Stephen, MN, and Rosalie and her four sisters and six brothers attended Golden Glow, District 55E country school near Stephen, MN. She remembered walking to school with at least one of her older sisters watching over her. As a farmer’s daughter, she looked back at milking and herding the cows and cleaning the barn.
For high school, Sister Bernadette first went to the Cathedral High School and then to Mount Saint Benedict Academy. After getting to know some of the sisters and working with them, she decided to enter Mount Saint Benedict Monastery in 1952. Sister Bernadette was received into the novitiate on July 2, 1952, when she received the Benedictine habit (clothing) and name Sister Bernadette. Two things impressed her during her formation days: Sister Bernadette admired the older sisters for how hard they worked to build the foundation of the community so that others may profit from it. And she remembered working in the garden as a novice with Sister Benigna. She made final monastic profession on July 11, 1956.
Sister Bernadette attended Saint Gabriel’s School of Nursing Diploma Program, Little Falls, MN. She received a Bachelor of Science Degree in nursing from South Dakota State University’s College of Nursing, Brookings, SD. Sister Bernadette served as a registered nurse at Saint John’s Hospital, Red Lake Falls; Saint Francis Hospital, Crookston; Saint John’s Hospital, Browerville; Saint Mary’s Hospital, Detroit Lakes; Mahnomen County Hospital, Mahnomen, and RiverView Healthcare, Crookston. After twenty-two years at RiverView Healthcare serving as a nurse and as clinical supervisor of RiverView’s ICU/ICCU Unit for a time, she retired from nursing in 2000.
But she didn’t retire from work. Sister took care of medication requests and used her sewing skills to produce various beautiful items for the gift shop. In her spare time, she enjoyed working on a jigsaw puzzle.
Sister Bernadette shared her thoughts: “Nursing was a rewarding ministry, and it was a privilege to be involved in the lives of many people from birth to death.
She stated “Now living at the Mount allows me to participate more fully in monastic life through community prayer and activities.”
Sister Bernadette was preceded in death by her parents William and Anna Kostrzewski and Siblings: George Kostrzewski, Dominic Kostrzewski, Florian Kostrzewski, Andrew Kostrzewski, John Kostrzewski, Roman Kostrzewski, Emily Valley, Marian Kostrzewski, Dolores Kostrzewski; and Irene Lee.
She is survived by many nieces and nephews and the Sisters of Saint Benedict of Crookston.
A prayer service celebrating Sister Bernadette’s life was held on Monday, November 25th with Mass of Christian Burial following at 2:00 p.m., Bishop Andrew Cozzens presiding. Both services were held in Sacred Heart Chapel, Mount Saint Benedict Monastery. The prayer service and Mass were live recorded for later viewing on www.stenshoelhouske.com.
Gifts in honor of Sister Bernadette Kostrzewski may be given to Mount Saint Benedict Endowment, 620 Summit Ave., Crookston, MN 56716.
Sister Norma Jean Edie died on February 10, 2023, at Villa Saint Vincent, Crookston.
Sister Norma Jean was born on September 10, 1933, in Saint Michael’s Hospital, Grand Forks, ND, the fourth of five children of Albert M. Edie and Claire Elizabeth (Murphy) Edie. She was given the name of Norma Jean at her baptism.
In grade school, the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Carondelet taught her at Saint Mary’s School, Grand Forks, ND. She attended Saint James School, Grand Forks, ND as a ninth-grader and finished her secondary education at Mount Saint Benedict Academy.
Norma Jean entered Mount Saint Benedict community during her senior year on January 6, 1952. She became a novice on July 3, 1952, when she received the Benedictine habit and the name Sister Callista. She made temporary vows on July 11, 1953, and her final monastic profession on July 11, 1956. Later she resumed her baptismal name and was known thereafter as Sister Norma Jean.
On the sixtieth anniversary of her profession of vows, Sister Norma Jean stated, “Gratitude is the only way I could begin to summarize sixty marvelous years as part of the Mount Saint Benedict monastic, fully Benedictine community! In reflecting on my life at the Mount, I feel that God guided me straight here all the way.”
Sister Norma Jean earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education with a concentration in art from Viterbo College. She was a classroom teacher for twenty-six years and then supervised activities for the sisters in the monastery care center from 1980 to 2000. During those years she also companioned Sister Justina Violette at night at Care and Share, a shelter for the homeless. She painted several murals for the shelter.
Sister Cathi Merck, prioress, assigned her to answer the many requests for pro-life billboards, floats for Crookston’s Ox Cart Day parades, and other community needs.
Sister Norma Jean commented, “In my grade school years, I discovered I had a reputation for being artistic. My favorite pastime was drawing. There were no formal art classes at that time, but I got a feel for blending oil paints when Sister Veronica let me help paint some outdoor Christmas figures.”
Her largest paintings are of The Last Supper, one for the dining room wall at Care and Share and another for Good Shepherd Monastery in Rio Grande City, TX.
Sister Norma Jean’s creative endeavors encompassed many mediums: painting, carving whimsical gnome and fairy houses, creating imaginative creatures for Halloween, rosemaling, and making clever, one-of-a kind greeting cards. She received the 2011 Northwest Artist Award from the Northwest Minnesota Arts Council.
Sister Norma Jean reflected on monastic life at Mount Saint Benedict. “I feel a deep gratitude that I did respond with a ‘Yes’ to God’s inner promptings that led me here! Throughout life, with my foibles, strengths, and weakness, in times of crisis and surety, health and sickness, fears and hopes, I feel everything has been and will be God’s plan for me.”
Sister Norma Jean Edie is preceded in death by her parents, Albert M. Edie and Claire Elizabeth (Murphy) Edie, her brothers James and Michael and sisters Mary Clair (Edie) Watson and Joanne (Edie) Myers.
Surviving her are her nieces and nephews and the sisters of Mount Saint Benedict Monastery, Crookston, MN.
A prayer service celebrating Sister Norma Jean’s life were held on Thursday, February 16, at 11:00 a.m. and the Mass of Christian Burial at 2:00 p.m. Both services were held at Sacred Heart Chapel of Mount Saint Benedict Monastery. The Mass was live-recorded for later viewing on www.stenshoelhouske.com.
Gifts in honor of Sister Norma Jean Edie may be given to Mount Saint Benedict Endowment, 620 Summit Ave., Crookston, MN 56716.
Sister Francella Gust, age 90, died on February 2, 2023, at Villa Saint Vincent, Crookston, MN.
Sister Francella was born at home on October 10, 1932, in Tabor, MN, the tenth of eleven children of John Jacob Gust and Frances Ann (Kotrba) Gust. At baptism she was given the name Frances.
The Gust family were members of Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Tabor. Sister Francella became acquainted with the Benedictine sisters when they came to her parish to teach summer religious education classes.
Frances attended District 64 country grade school. No matter the season, she and her siblings often walked the two and a half miles to school. For high school, Frances attended Mount Saint Benedict Academy in Crookston.
During her senior year, she entered Mount Saint Benedict Monastery. She received the Benedictine habit and the name of Sister Francella on July 10, 1950, pronounced temporary vows on July 11, 1951, and made her final monastic profession on July 11, 1954.
Sister Francella graduated from the Saint Cloud School of Nursing in 1959. Over a period of thirty-one years, she successfully served as a staff nurse or as a nursing supervisor at Saint Francis Hospital in Crookston, Saint Mary’s Hospital in Detroit Lakes and Villa Saint Vincent. She then pursued training in clinical pastoral education from Altru Hospital in Grand Forks, ND, and served in pastoral care at Villa Saint Vincent in Crookston for thirty-three years until her retirement in 2016.
Sister Francella said she found celebration of feasts and the companionship of the sisters to be particularly life-giving. She leant her good soprano voice and full heart to liturgical prayer. She enjoyed small group living where, she said, she found the freedom to express and to receive love and concern.
In her retirement, Sister Fran liked watching good movies and plying various crafts, especially crocheting, decoupaging, and embroidering. Her embroidered dishtowels sold as fast as drops of water sizzle on a hot stove.
Sister Francella is preceded in death by her parents, John Jacob Gust and Frances Ann (Kotrba) Gust, her brothers Frank, Rudolph, Paul, Louis, Anthony, Eugene, Richard, Gerard, and her sister, Alice (Gust) Canterbury.
Surviving her are her brother Edward, many nieces and nephews and the Sisters of Saint Benedict of Crookston.
A prayer service celebrating Sister Francella’s life were held on Wednesday, February 8, at 11:00 a.m. and the Mass of Christian Burial at 2:00 p.m. Both services were held at Sacred Heart Chapel of Mount Saint Benedict Monastery.
The Mass was live-recorded for later viewing on www.stenshoelhouske.com.
Gifts in honor of Sister Francella Gust may be given to Mount Saint Benedict Endowment, 620 Summit Ave., Crookston, MN 56716.
