Sister M. Valine Saumweber

Mankato Mortuary 1001 N. Riverfront Drive Mankato, Minnesota 56001 507-388-2202 Shortly after the daily Liturgy concluded in the Good Counsel chapel, Sister M. Valine Saumweber, 92, died peacefully at 11:40 a.m. on Thursday, October 15, 2015, in Notre Dame Healthcare, Our Lady of Good Counsel, Mankato, Minnesota. Her death was unexpected; just shortly before she died, healthcare staff noted a marked decline in her condition, and her two SSND sisters, Sister Miriam and Sister Vianney, were called. They and pastoral staff members were with her when she died. The Funeral Mass for Sister Valine, with Father Andrew Olsem as presider, will be at 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, October 20, in Good Counsel Chapel, Mankato. Following the Liturgy, she will be cremated, and her cremains will be buried at a later date. The vigil service will be at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. We extend our sympathy to Sisters Miriam and Vianney, her nephew James and his family, her friends, former students and colleagues, and her sisters in community, the School Sisters of Notre Dame. Sister Valine was preceded in death by her parents, Valentine and Marie (Griesgraber) Saumweber, her sister, Sister M. Verna, SSND (Marie), and her brothers, Clement, Gene, Gervais and Jerome. Sister Valine was born August 29, 1923, in St. Paul, the sixth of eight children and the second daughter. Two of her brothers died at a young age in 1919, probable victims of the flu epidemic; two more girls joined the family after her. The Sunday following her birth, she was baptized Dolores Ann Adele at Sacred Heart Church. Her father was an immigrant from Bavaria who came to the US with three brothers, all of whom settled in St. Paul. At the time of her birth, Dolores' family was living at the site where Sacred Heart School would be built; they moved to a home across the street when the school was built. Dolores attended Sacred Heart School where she was taught by School Sisters of Notre Dame. She completed eight grades in seven years because, at that time, third graders who could read very well were sometimes promoted to fourth grade mid-year. She wrote the following about her vocation, "As far back as I can remember, I always thought that one day I would become a Sister. One time, when the four of us girls were quite small, my mother took us to the convent across the street for Mass. After Mass the Superior, I think it was Sister Euphemia, said to my mother, Some day all of your girls will be School Sisters of Notre Dame.'" Dolores felt privileged to become a sacristy helper in sixth grade. Following eighth-grade graduation, she attended the two-year high school at Sacred Heart. As a junior, she enrolled in the aspiranture at Good Counsel Academy in Mankato. During her senior year, her sister Miriam joined her at Good Counsel because the two-year high school at Sacred Heart closed. In 1940, Dolores graduated from Good Counsel in June and entered the SSND Candidature in August. Her older sister, Marie, (Sister M. Verna), had professed first vows in July of that year. As a second-year candidate, Dolores taught at St. Matthew School, St. Paul. She wrote, "By some coincidence, I happened to go to the same school that my sister, Marie, had gone to as a Candidate, and had the same grade and room." Dolores was received into the novitiate in 1942 and given the name Sister M. Valine. Following first profession of vows in 1943, she returned to St. Matthew, where she remained until 1950 as a primary-grade teacher. For the next 25 years, Sister Valine taught elementary grades and music in several Catholic Schools, all but one in Minnesota: Holy Childhood, St. Paul (1950-52); St. Joseph, Montevideo (1952-53); SS. Cyril & Methodius, Minneapolis (1953-55); St. Pius, St. Pius, ND (1955-58); St. Isidore, Litomysl (1958-61); St. Peter, Forest Lake (1961-65); St. Ann, Kimball (1965-67); St. Matthias, Hampton, where she was also principal (1967-74); and St. Michael, St. Michael (1974-75). During this time she earned a B.A. in English from St. Catherine's College, St. Paul in 1951, and an Ms Ed in English and music from Mankato State College in 1968. After four years in a renewal program, she became the school secretary at St. Francis Xavier School, Sartell, in 1979. In her final year at Sartell, she began a ministry that would be her focal point for the next 23 years: outreach to children, especially those with special needs, and to older adults. She commented, "My last year at Sartell (1985), I began my volunteer work as a Foster Grandparent. Moving from Sartell, I lived with Hazel Klein, an elderly woman, in St. Cloud, for two years. This was part of a program called Share-A-Home' with Catholic Charities." During her years in St. Cloud, she was involved with several aspects of the Foster Grandparent program, which she described as: "The Foster Grandparent program is sponsored by Catholic Charities and I have served in various situations - in-home visiting; a shelter for battered women now called Anna Marie's'; Catholic Charities Day Treatment Center; and Talahi School." Known as "Grandma Val," Sister Valine became an integral part of the St. Cloud Foster Grandparent program. A 2003 article described her role: "As a Foster Grandparent at Talahi Elementary School, Grandma Val enjoys giving extra help in the Book Buddy' program, which is her favorite subject. Assigned children are able to spend 30 minutes with her each week working on reading. Grandma Val gets to know their personalities very well. She loves to be with kids." The article continued, "When the children are on summer vacation Sister Valine volunteers at Anna Marie's Women's Shelter. Here she spends time in the daycare area caring for children of women who have been in an abusive relationship. Sister Valine comforts babies that need soothing, interacts with the children, has lunch with them, reads to and plays games with them." Sister Valine herself commented, "I don't know what to say except that I just really love being with the kids. It's such a rewarding experience to grow close to a child. It is rewarding to have my Book Buddy wave to me in the hallway when she sees me coming to get her. One of my Book Buddies just about cried when I explained to her that we weren't going to have Book Buddy time over Christmas vacation." When Sister Valine retired in 2007, she was honored with a special send-off at Talahi School that received coverage in the St. Cloud Times: "Students and staff lined up along two walls while Sister Valine was pushed past on a makeshift throne built on a maintenance cart covered with crepe paper. She wore a red crown, purple sash, and had a silver scepter." One of the staff members was quoted, "She has been a wonderful volunteer. She loves our kids so much." Sister Valine's favorite flower was the rose, and two of her favorite places in St. Cloud were the Clemens Rose Gardens and the Munsinger Gardens. She often walked to the gardens and would take her visitors there whenever she could. She also loved animals, especially kittens and puppies. Music was also a special love, and she had a beautiful singing voice. She liked teaching music, gave piano lessons, and was organist at some of the parishes where she served. An avid letter writer, she kept in contact with family and friends in this way. May Sister Valine now be singing God's praises forever as she rejoices in God's steadfast love!