Sister Mary Antonette (Rita) Ahles, 99, died April 13, at St. Francis Convent, Little Falls, Minn.
Rita Ahles was born on March 14, 1921, in Bluegrass, Minn. She was the 11th of 12 children born to the late Joseph and Elizabeth (Nett) Ahles. Joseph and Elizabeth were very prayerful people and set a good example of Christian charity to their children, as well as to the communities in which they lived. The Ahles family loved to sing. They sang as a group and in solos and duets for many occasions.
In 1927, Rita started first grade in Blue Grass. In 1930, the Ahles family moved to Kerman, Calif., where Rita completed grammar school in seven years. Rita’s oldest sister, Sister Mary Assumpta, entered the Franciscan Community in Little Falls, Minn. Since the sisters had a high school for girls, Rita was sent there in 1934. She completed her studies in three years and was valedictorian of her class. On December 8, 1936, Rita entered St. Francis Convent and received the name Sister Mary Antonette. She made her final vows August 12, 1942. She was the sixth member of the Ahles family to enter the Franciscan Sisters, and her brother, Jerry, became a Franciscan Friar in California.
Sister Antonette received her RN at St. Francis School of Nursing, Breckenridge. She did post-graduate studies in OB nursing at Marquette University and graduated from Marquette with a BSN in nursing in 1955. She did further studies at St. Joseph’s Hospital, Milwaukee; at Columbia University, New York; at the University of Minnesota; and at St. Louis University. She served as an instructor at St. Francis School of Nursing, Breckenridge, Minn., and at St. Gabriel’s School of Nursing, Little Falls. She obtained a Master’s degree in Public Health Nursing in 1964.
Sister Antonette was a woman of many talents. Her energy and time seemed endless as she cared for the sick and the migrants, served on boards, belonged to associations and wrote many articles for publication in various journals. A significant literary achievement was the publication of The Story of St. Francis Hospital Schools, published in 1973 and updated in 1995, the history of St. Francis School of Nursing, School of X-ray Technology and the Medical Record Technician Program.
Sister Antonette had a quick wit and a great sense of humor and could entertain others with her delightful storytelling. As a way of relaxation, she enjoyed reading, crocheting, painting and taking road trips, often accompanied by her sisters. For years, Sister Antonette painted Christmas scenes on the windows at the hospitals where she was stationed, and later on, at the convent.
In her ministry, Sister Antonette utilized all her gifts in nursing, nursing education, home health, pastoral care and migrant ministry. She was listed in the first edition of Who’s Who in Contemporary Nursing in 1983. As a pioneer in providing health care to migrant farm workers, she was part of a program initiated in 1969 by women religious to set up clinics in areas where migrant workers toiled in the fields. She served on the board of The National Migrant Worker Council and personally worked many summers in clinics serving migrants in the Dioceses of Crookston and Saint Cloud, Minn. Later she did similar ministry to migrants along the East Coast from New Jersey to Florida. For several years she also served as Executive Director of the Midwest Migrant Health Office in Detroit, Mich., an organization that provided healthcare to migrants throughout the Midwest. She later served as Development Director for the Franciscan Sisters.
Sister Antonette was a Public Health Nurse in Nacadoches, Tex.; was a staff educator and pastoral minister at Sacred Heart Home, Plattsburgh, N.Y.; and also did pastoral ministry at Holy Family Parish in Chimayo, N. Mex.
Sister Antonette was preceded in death by her parents and siblings: Sister Assumpta, Norbert, Frank, Sister Lucina, Paul, Melchior, Sister Dolores, Sister Theophane, Father Jerome, Raymond and Sister Joanne. Survivors include nieces and nephews and her Franciscan Community.
Burial of cremains was held on April 16, 2020. A Memorial Mass was celebrated November 23, 2021.
