Sister Annabelle Theis, SSND

Mankato Mortuary 1001 N. Riverfront Drive Mankato, MN 56001 (507) 388-2202 Our beloved Sister Annabelle Theis, 82, died peacefully at 7:50 p.m. on Friday, July 31, 2015, in Notre Dame Health Care, Our Lady of Good Counsel, Mankato, Minnesota. She suffered a severe stroke in February from which she never fully recovered. Her sister, Valeria Theis, SSND, her cousin, Monica Wagner, SSND, and her niece and nephew-in-law, Mary Alice and Maurice Bleess, and several sisters had supported her on her journey throughout the day. The funeral Mass for Sister Annabelle, with Father Eugene Stenzel as presider, will be at 10:30 a.m., Wednesday, August 5, in Good Counsel Chapel, Mankato, followed by burial in our cemetery. The vigil service will be at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. We extend our sympathy to her sister, Sister Valeria, her nieces and nephews and their families, her friends, former students and colleagues, and her sisters in community, the School Sisters of Notre Dame. She was preceded in death by her parents, William and Isabel (Lenzmeier) Theis, her sisters Lucille Pauly, Jeanette Wolf, Georgia Rose Theis, Jean Marie (Luverna) Theis, SSND, Alice Kopp, Evelyn Theis and Marjorie Theis (both of whom died in infancy), and her brothers Harold and Alvin. The youngest of eleven children, Sister Annabelle was born on the feast of the Guardian Angels, October 2, 1932. At her baptism one week later at St. Mary of the Purification Church in Marystown, Minnesota, she was given a name that combined her grandmother's and her mother's names - Annabelle. She grew up on the family farm where her parents planted and nurtured the love of God in their children and helped them develop a strong work ethic with all children all participating in the daily farm chores. In 1938 Annabelle began first grade at St. Mary of the Purification School, where she was taught by School Sisters of Notre Dame. Following eighth grade graduation in 1946, she entered the SSND Aspiranture at Good Counsel Academy, Mankato. She was well-acquainted with SSND life as three of her sisters had preceded her to the aspiranture and two of her mother's sisters (Sisters Leander and Jeanette Lenzmeier) were also School Sisters of Notre Dame, as was her father's aunt, Sister Maximilla Theis. Annabelle wrote concerning her time at the academy, "Those four years hold volumes of memories so inspirational, joyous and happy that it would be difficult to describe them." On August 28, 1950, Annabelle became the fourth Theis daughter to enter the SSND candidature. As a second-year candidate, she taught fourth grade at SS. Peter & Paul School, Mankato. It was during Christmas vacation of this year that her sister Valeria reentered the candidature following recovery from illness. Annabelle and Valeria were both received into the novitiate in 1952 and given forms of their parents' names: Annabelle became Sister William Marie and Valeria became Sister Isabel Marie. Both took their first vows on July 19, 1953. Both later returned to their baptismal names. Sister Annabelle's first teaching assignment was St. Andrew School, St. Paul, where she taught intermediate grades from 1953 until 1960. Following two years at SS. Peter & Paul School, Blue Earth, where she taught 54 students in a combined seventh and eighth grade classroom, she returned to St. Paul and taught one year at Sacred Heart. She was principal at St. Andrew from 1963 until 1965, and then spent the next five years at SS. Peter & Paul, Mankato, serving first as a junior high teacher and then as principal. From 1970 through 1980, she taught at St. Matthew, St. Paul, and Shakopee Area Catholic Schools, and was principal at Holy Childhood and St. Francis de Sales, both in St. Paul. During her years of teaching and administration, Sister Annabelle earned a bachelor's degree in history and education from St. Catherine's College (1960) and a master's degree in administration from Notre Dame University (1969). She did post-graduate work at St. Thomas, the University of San Francisco, Boston College and Sacred Heart School of Theology. In August, 1980, Sister Annabelle became a student in the Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) program at Abbott-Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis. From 1981 through 1989, she served in community administration at Good Counsel. Her role was later described in an article written by Father Gordon Doffing in the Holy Childhood Parish bulletin, "Recognizing her strong administrative talents, her order brought her back to the motherhouse in Mankato, where, for the past nine years, she planned and managed annual budgets; directed central purchasing; hired, supervised and evaluated maintenance personnel; and managed the order's fleet of about 100 automobiles in ten states, buying, selling and insuring cars, and designing and managing a collision self-insurance fund for the fleet." Father Doffing had a special reason for listing Sister Annabelle's Good Counsel responsibilities; in 1989, she returned to formal education as principal of Holy Childhood School. He continued, "In spite of her obvious success in administration at the motherhouse, Sister Annabelle's first love always has been the education of children. She was eager to get back into elementary school work, and when she heard of our opening, she applied for the position." When Sister Annabelle left Holy Childhood in 1994, the bulletin message was equally effusive, "If I had to summarize in one word her approach to life and work, the word would be Enthusiasm.' . . . a true educator, like Jesus, helps to call forth from others the good of which they are capable. Sister Annabelle Theis does exactly that!" In June 1994, Sister Annabelle became the first director of pastoral ministry for Nativity of Our Lord Parish in St. Paul. In a 2005 Nativity publication article, she is quoted, "Pastoral ministry was uncharted waters' for me. As an educator, you usually have a pretty good idea of what needs to be done and how to do it. Pastoral ministry is totally different - everything depends on the individual and where they are on life's journey." Sister Annabelle developed an outreach program that enabled the homebound and elderly to maintain an active faith life, an outreach program that was different for every person it served. A co-worker commented in the same article, "The compassion and innovation she brings to each situation is amazing. Her faith is so deep and so much a part of everything she does that you can't help but feel closer to God after being with her." Sister Annabelle retired from Nativity in 2005 and remained as a volunteer for one more year. From 2006 through 2010, she served in part-time ministry as a receptionist for Willwerscheid Funeral Home in St. Paul. Sister Annabelle moved to Good Counsel in 2010. During her years in St. Paul, she and Sister Valeria had formed a special bond with an immigrant family. They continued this outreach on the Hill, and were often visited by the family. An excellent conversationalist, Sister Annabelle continued her love of learning as she participated in the "Word a Week" program in which participants learned and incorporated one new word each week into their conversations. Throughout her life, Sister Annabelle journeyed with many of God's people. She has now completed her own journey. May she experience God's eternal companionship.