Sister M. Aloise Meurer, SSND
(née Teresa Meurer)

First Profession August 22, 1935
Motherhouse
St. Louis, Missouri

The eighth of ten children was born to Rosa [Barth] and Dr. Louis (Aloysius) Meurer on October 15, 1915, in Evansville, Ill. Two days later she was baptized at St. Boniface Church in Evansville and named Teresa Anne. Stephen, the seventh child, died shortly after birth and Francis, the eldest child, drowned in the Kaskaskia River the same year that Teresa was born. She grew up with four sisters and the remaining three brothers.

Teresa attended St. Boniface School in Evansville and was taught by the Precious Blood Sisters from Ruma, Ill. She was in the fourth grade when her father, a physician, died suddenly from a heart attack. He attended Mass daily and passed away on a First Friday. Due to his unbounded charity to the poor, there was no provision for the family and its support rested upon the older children. Several had found employment in St. Louis, Mo. The family moved there in 1925 and the older children supported the widowed mother and the family during the depression. Teresa completed her elementary education at St. Andrew's School in Lemay under the tutelage of the School Sisters of Notre Dame.

Dr. Meurer had expressed the desire and prayed that at least one of his daughters would become a religious sister. This thought motivated Teresa to become an aspirant at the nearby SSND motherhouse. Her mother and teachers supported her in this choice. She completed high school in three years and entered the candidature on August 31, 1932. As a second year candidate, she was missioned to teach second and third grade children at St. Francis of Assisi, Aviston, Ill. Teresa was received into the novitiate on August 21, 1934 and given the name, Mary Aloise, an adaptation of her father's patron, St. Aloysius. Profession of first vows was on August 22, 1935 and final vows on August 22, 1941.

Sister Aloise earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Quincy College, Quincy, Ill. in 1945 and a Master of Arts degree from St. Louis University in education in 1963.

Following her profession of vows, Sister Aloise taught elementary students at St. Peter Cathedral, Belleville, Ill.; Sacred Heart, Rich Fountain, Mo. and St. Francis Solanus, Quincy, Ill. She was principal and teacher at St. Martin, Jefferson City, Mo.; St. Louis, Nokomis, Ill. and Blessed Sacrament, Belleville, Ill. After a year at St. Francis Borgia, Washington, Mo., she was missioned to the newly formed Dallas province as principal and teacher at Immaculate Conception, Liberty, Texas and Holy Rosary, Houma, La. She was principal at Immaculate Conception, Marrero, La. and teacher at Redemptorist Junior High School, Baton Rouge, La.

In 1973, she returned to the St. Louis Province and taught at St. Mary, Belleville, Ill.; St. Francis Borgia, Washington, Mo. and St. Michael, Shrewsbury, Mo. In 1994, she was transferred to the St. Louis motherhouse and taught for 14 years in the Notre Dame Tutorial/Learning Center. This completed 74 years of ministry in Catholic education.

Sister Aloise was missioned to Veronica House in 2008. She was placed on hospice in February 2014 and transferred to Anna House the following month. She took her last breath on June 27, 2014, at about 1:00 p.m.

A wake/vigil was held at Anna House and Theresa Center on July 1. The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated the following morning with Rev. Edward Fitzgibbon, a former pastor, as presider. Numerous family members and friends joined the SSNDs in celebrating Sister Aloise's life. Her parents and siblings had all preceded her in death. Burial was in the Ripa cemetery.

Sister Aloise was the last living St. Louis participant in The Nun Study which Dr. David Snowdon began in the former St. Louis province in 1991. Her love of learning did not end when she left classroom teaching. She kept her mind active through working crossword puzzles, doing word find, reading the newspaper, watching the news. She was an avid Scrabble player and was more interested in the number of points than in winning a game. She also enjoyed playing cards and dominoes. She was able to rapidly say the ABCs backward. During her long career in education, she taught mostly junior high students and her favorite subject was math.

She was a gentle, pleasant person with a ready smile and would reach out to everyone she met. She dearly loved her family and their love was returned in numerous ways. Sister Aloise went home to God during her 79th year of religious profession on the feast of the Sacred Heart. As she enters eternal life, which she longed for during these last months, may she be blessed with peace and welcomed by the loving God she served so faithfully.

(School Sisters of Notre Dame, Central Pacific Province)

Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord!