Sister Rose Abeyta
Isabelle Leontina

Isabelle Leontina was the oldest of 12 children, four who died in infancy, born to Joseph and Josephine Abeyta on November 4, 1911, on the family farm in Park View, NM. Her elementary and first two years of high school were public school. Desiring to become a religious, but having no contact with sisters, she was urged by her pastor to consider Yankton, and entered the community on September 13, 1930. There she would complete high school at Mount Marty in 1932 and made her profession as Sister Rose on August 16, 1933.
Sister Rose began her long teaching career the day after making profession, having written the teacher's examination for certification. It was difficult to believe her first year, according to her account, she had unruly students and no experience in handling them, when in later life burly high school boys could be handled with a look. The first 15 years of teaching would be in the elementary classrooms in North and South Dakota. During these years she attended Mount Marty Junior College for several summers, and earned her BS degree in chemistry and mathematics at Mount St. Scholastica College, Atchison, Kansas, in 1949. At this time Sister Rose moved to high school teaching first at Holy Trinity High School, in Hartington, Cedar Co., Nebraska for two years, then to York, Nebraska and Salem , So. Dakota for 13 years. She then returned to Holy Trinity in Hartington to teach math and science and attending to the Library for 27 years. Her education continued along with teaching. Sister Rose Rose in 1958, completed studies for a Master's degree in administration and library science at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln; she also earned a Master's degree in Chemistry at Tuskegee Institute, Alabama.
Sister Rose would use her education and personality to the fullest, effectively communicating to her students and expecting the most out of them. This untiring effort would result in Sister Rose being chosen as Outstanding Secondary Educator o America in 1974. The award read as follows, The men and women chosen for this high award have explored new paths , developed new insight and effectively communicated their knowledge to their students and colleagues. They are exceptional teachers.
Sister Rose, the last Benedictine to teach at Holy Trinity/Cedar Catholic in Hartington, is remembered for her great generosity, her outstanding success as a teacher, her love of family, a wonderful sense of humor and an avid card player. Whatever she did, was done to perfection. Her teaching ministry was cut short when she suffered a massive stroke in 1991 and returned to the mother house for recuperation and made a remarkable recovery. For a number of years she did book-binding at the monastery, and was active in various household ministries until her second stroke, just nine days before her death, Thursday morning January 6, 2005. Sister Rose is buried in the monastery cemetery.