Sister Marie A. Theis died October 9, 2019, at St. Francis Convent, Little Falls, Minn.
Marie was the oldest of eight children of Frank and Mary (Stein) Theis. She was born on a farm in Eden Valley, Stearns County, Minn., on February 17, 1918.
She was accepted as a Franciscan Sister of Little Falls, Minnesota, on August 12, 1939, and given the name Sister Mary Susanne. She made first profession of vows August 12, 1941, and final vows on August 12, 1944. She was a Franciscan Sister for 80 years.
Sister Marie attended Assumption Grade School in Eden Valley and St. Francis High School in Little Falls. She studied at both the College of St. Catherine in St. Paul, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education, and at St. Cloud State University. She did further education at St. John’s University in Collegeville and the College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph.
She served in the domestic area at the St. Cloud Children’s Home, the residences of Bishop Busch and Bishop Bartholome and at the Dwelling Place, a retreat center in Sauk Rapids. Her desire had always been to teach and she fulfilled that desire when she taught at Catholic schools in Waite Park, Elk River and Holy Spirit in St. Cloud. Following her years of teaching, she cared for the sick and elderly in their homes.
Saint Francis’ goal was to live the Gospel life. As a follower of Francis, Sister Marie studied the Gospels, making them a part of her daily life. She was a woman of great faith. Mass and the Rosary were a part of her daily prayer.
Sister Marie lived for a number of years at Mary’s House in St. Cloud, a place she thoroughly enjoyed because the back yard was the habitat of all kinds of God’s creatures. She loved to garden and especially loved having a flower garden. She also played the piano and collected many recipes that she used in cooking. Sister Marie was an excellent cook. In addition, Sister Marie was an avid fan of the Minnesota Twins. She also kept track of the weather and usually had an updated weather report.
In the 1970’s, Sister Marie started writing the family history of both the Theis and Stein families. She wanted to preserve this history because both sides of her family had the genes for an inherited disease, cystic fibrosis. She completed several family histories.
Sister Marie was preceded in death by her parents; sisters, Florence Rademacher and Margaret Kerzman; brothers, Laurence and Sylvester; brothers-in-law, Aloys Radermacher, Ralph Kerzman and Peter Nohner; nephews, Kenneth Theis and Wayne Nohner; and her niece, Julie Theis. She is survived by her sisters, RoseAnn Kerzman and Marion Nohner; her brother Francis and his wife, Helen; brother-in-law, Paul Kerzman; many nieces and nephews and her Franciscan Community.
A Mass of Christian Burial took place at St. Francis Convent on Saturday, October 19.
