Irene Mary Kulzer was born at home on the farm in Spring Hill, Minn., on February 11, 1931. She was baptized the next day at St. Michael’s Church, Spring Hill. Irene was the second of nine children born to the late Roman and Adelinde (Terhaar) Kulzer. Spring Hill was a German settlement and Irene spoke only German until she started school. She retained her German accent all of her life.
Irene had a happy childhood. She enjoyed doing the numerous duties necessary on a farm. These included bringing the cows home from pasture for milking and then milking them. She loved to pick potato bugs from the potato plants as she received a penny as a reward. In those days, a penny had value.
Irene attended a one-room country school until she was ten. She was somewhat handicapped at first because she could not speak English. The family moved to Sauk Centre when she was ten and it was there that she met the Benedictine Sisters who taught religion. When two Franciscan Fathers gave a mission at St. Paul’s Church and spoke so wonderfully about the love of God, Irene began to think of becoming a sister.
She attended Sauk Centre High School for two years and then heard about St. Francis High School in Little Falls. She applied for a job at St. Gabriel’s Hospital in 1948 so she could observe the sisters at closer range. She liked what she found and she finished high school at St. Francis, graduating as a postulant in 1950. On July 31, 1950, Irene was accepted as a Franciscan Sister of Little Falls and given the name, Sister Mary Blase. She made her first profession of vows on August 12, 1952, and final vows on August 12, 1955. She was a Franciscan Sister for 70 years.
Sister Blase was assigned to St. Otto’s Care Center where she developed a deep and reverent love for the elderly. She found that she had a special talent in communicating with them and she believed that working with the elderly helped her in her spiritual life as well. She said to work with them was really “precious, beautiful and meaningful.” She spent seven years at St. Otto’s and, during that time, attended geriatric workshops at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul. In 1959 she was transferred to St. Francis Home in Breckenridge where she spent 25 years, initially as a nursing floor manager, but later, after obtaining her certificate as a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant, as Activity Director. She was very active in the Occupational Therapy Association.
In 1986, Sister Blase moved to Little Falls where she participated in a renewal program, Wholistic Growth Resources. She served as house manager for that program for several years, interrupting her time there to spend a few months serving in hospitality and gardening at Sky Farm Center, a similar program in Husum, Wash. While at WGR, she learned ceramics and pottery and for many years shared her expertise in those areas.
She completed her ministry years at Clothes Review, a ministry for recycling used clothing and household items. During those years, she gathered a faithful group of volunteers who continued to help and befriend her as, in her retirement, she managed the greenhouse and cared for her beloved Mama Kitty as well as volunteering with Morrison County Hospice.
Sister Blase especially enjoyed visits from her family, and she was much loved by them as well as by her sisters. She displayed eagerness about life and living it each day to the full.
When she celebrated her golden jubilee she said, “Words cannot express God’s work in me. His presence may not always be felt, but I believe that He is near. I pray I will always be able to respond to life with joy. Through my ‘aliveness’ may He be made known to others.”
Sister Mary Blase is survived by siblings: Elsie Bromenshenkel, Janet, Roman, Jr. (Mary), Sauk Centre; Annella (Alois) Clasemann, Cloquet; Marina (George) Blackwood, Cappell, Tex.; Kathleen Angus, Wadena; her sister-in-law, Karen, Rochester; her nieces and nephews and her Franciscan Community. She was preceded in death by her brothers David and Allen.
A private burial service was held on October 13, 2020. A memorial Mass was held July 31, 2021 with family and friends.
