Sister Aniceta Shalz, O.S.B.
August 10, 1907 – December 1, 2006

Longtime band director and music instructor at the former Bishop Lillis High School, Kansas City, Mo., Sister Aniceta Shalz, O.S.B., 99, died December 1, 2006, at Mount St. Scholastica, Atchison, Kans. The vigil service will be Sunday, Dec. 3, 2006, in the monastery chapel at 7pm, and the Mass of Resurrection will be offered there Monday, Dec. 4, at 10:30am.

Sister Aniceta (Martha Bertha) was born August 10, 1907 to George and Anna Thomas (Tomazic) Shalz and was baptized in St. Joseph parish, Wathena, Kans. She was the eleventh of fourteen children, all of whom predeceased her.

She graduated from Mount St. Scholastica Academy in 1925 after she entered the Benedictine community, and received a BA in music with a mathematics minor and an M.A. in education from Notre Dame University in 1963. She also studied at the University of Detroit, the University of Missouri Kansas City, Northwest Missouri State Teachers College, and the Paul Christiansen Choral workshops at Lamont School of Music, Denver, Colo.

Her teaching career also brought her to schools in Kansas (St. Anthony, Kansas City; St. Joseph, Shawnee; Argentine; and Baileyville Public) and in Nebraska (Beatrice, Westpoint, and Atkinson) and to Monroe City and South St. Joseph, Mo. Her Lillis High School marching bands were regulars at events like the American Royal. Her students usually received excellent ratings at vocal and band music festivals, and she herself was recognized for outstanding work in music education. In her retirement, she served for almost six years as assistant to the health care coordinator at the Mount, gave music lessons at the Mount Conservatory of Music, played the organ at St. Lucy's chapel in Dooley Center, Atchison, and entertained at the piano almost every afternoon. Earlier, she had served on the liturgy team and had been appointed diocesan liturgy consultant.

She is survived by her sister-in-law Mrs. Lucille Shalz, Wathena, Kans; by many nieces and nephews, and by her monastic family.

Memorials may be sent to Mount St. Scholastica Monastery, Atchison, Kans.


Sister Aniceta's memorial card
"I am filled with your praise;
All day I sing your glory."
Ps 71:8

On December 1, 2006, our beloved Sister Aniceta Shalz returned to God, the last of her family of 14 children to do so. She graduated from the Mount Academy after entering her religious community in 1925, and was a professed sister for 79 years. Dedicated and disciplined, prayerful and occasionally stern, she brought to her teaching, music, and other ministries a joyful spirit. Her laughter was a long merry ripple that delighted her listeners and invited them to join in the moment's appreciation. Sister Aniceta earned her A.B. in music with a mathematics minor from Mount St. Scholastica College, and an M.A. in education from Notre Dame University. For 16 years she was marching band director and teacher of music, English, and math at the former Bishop Lillis High School in Kansas City Mo. She was diocesan music consultant, served on the liturgy team and the community senate, and was pastoral assistant at St. James in South St. Joseph before retiring to Atchison. There she taught in the Conservatory of Music and played piano in Dooley Center for residents' enjoyment. Happy wherever she was, Sister Aniceta liked to play cards, listen to good music, visit the sick, and celebrate with her family. She was an example of the hospitality treasured by her sisters. Let us remember her gratefully in prayer.