Sister Alice Roepke, SSND
(formerly Sister Mary Samuel)
First Profession July 30, 1932
Motherhouse
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Alice Roepke was the first of six children born to John Roepke and Clara Neidhardt. Of her siblings, Alice wrote, "Two brothers and two sisters were added to the family before I was eleven, so I had plenty of chances to babysit." The family rejoiced when their father, a Lutheran, was received into the Church, a fact Alice recalled with pride. She added, "He and I were confirmed together."
After graduating from St. Elizabeth Grade School in Milwaukee, Alice entered the Juniorate in our Milwaukee Street Motherhouse. She was happy to continue taking piano lessons in the convent. She also treasured the name given her as a novice, Sister Mary Samuel, because to her it meant one being called in a special way by God.
Assigned to St. Mary, Menasha, after her profession, Sister Samuel was told by Mother Kostka that she was being sent there as an "experiment." Since there were not enough piano students to justify a full time music teacher, she was to teach 65 second graders, teach church music in the upper grades, play the organ for two or three masses each weekday, and teach piano students. The experiment lasted 15 years.
Numerous assignments followed that challenged her adaptability. In the span of the next 30 years, she was sent to be a grade school teacher and principal, Aspirants' Mistress, high school teacher, Directress of Postulants, District Coordinator, and finally Community Councilor of the Mequon Province.
After those years of service, Sister Alice, having gone back to her baptismal name, did not return to classroom teaching, although she cherished loving memories of her students and faithful friends. She used her skills to help at St. Mary, West Bend, and the Motherhouse. In 1991, she retired at Notre Dame of Elm Grove where her quick wit, jokes, and stories were a constant source of entertainment. She died after a severe fall in 2009, leaving behind her last story of a genteel, wise, gracious woman, dedicated to a loving, and yes, joyful God.
(School Sisters of Notre Dame, Milwaukee Province)
Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord!
(formerly Sister Mary Samuel)
First Profession July 30, 1932
Motherhouse
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Alice Roepke was the first of six children born to John Roepke and Clara Neidhardt. Of her siblings, Alice wrote, "Two brothers and two sisters were added to the family before I was eleven, so I had plenty of chances to babysit." The family rejoiced when their father, a Lutheran, was received into the Church, a fact Alice recalled with pride. She added, "He and I were confirmed together."
After graduating from St. Elizabeth Grade School in Milwaukee, Alice entered the Juniorate in our Milwaukee Street Motherhouse. She was happy to continue taking piano lessons in the convent. She also treasured the name given her as a novice, Sister Mary Samuel, because to her it meant one being called in a special way by God.
Assigned to St. Mary, Menasha, after her profession, Sister Samuel was told by Mother Kostka that she was being sent there as an "experiment." Since there were not enough piano students to justify a full time music teacher, she was to teach 65 second graders, teach church music in the upper grades, play the organ for two or three masses each weekday, and teach piano students. The experiment lasted 15 years.
Numerous assignments followed that challenged her adaptability. In the span of the next 30 years, she was sent to be a grade school teacher and principal, Aspirants' Mistress, high school teacher, Directress of Postulants, District Coordinator, and finally Community Councilor of the Mequon Province.
After those years of service, Sister Alice, having gone back to her baptismal name, did not return to classroom teaching, although she cherished loving memories of her students and faithful friends. She used her skills to help at St. Mary, West Bend, and the Motherhouse. In 1991, she retired at Notre Dame of Elm Grove where her quick wit, jokes, and stories were a constant source of entertainment. She died after a severe fall in 2009, leaving behind her last story of a genteel, wise, gracious woman, dedicated to a loving, and yes, joyful God.
(School Sisters of Notre Dame, Milwaukee Province)
Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord!
Sister Alice Roepke, SSND
(formerly Sister Mary Samuel)
First Profession July 30, 1932
Motherhouse
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Alice Roepke was the first of six children born to John Roepke and Clara Neidhardt. Of her siblings, Alice wrote, "Two brothers and two sisters were added to the family before I was eleven, so I had plenty of chances to babysit." The family rejoiced when their father, a Lutheran, was received into the Church, a fact Alice recalled with pride. She added, "He and I were confirmed together."
After graduating from St. Elizabeth Grade School in Milwaukee, Alice entered the Juniorate in our Milwaukee Street Motherhouse. She was happy to continue taking piano lessons in the convent. She also treasured the name given her as a novice, Sister Mary Samuel, because to her it meant one being called in a special way by God.
Assigned to St. Mary, Menasha, after her profession, Sister Samuel was told by Mother Kostka that she was being sent there as an "experiment." Since there were not enough piano students to justify a full time music teacher, she was to teach 65 second graders, teach church music in the upper grades, play the organ for two or three masses each weekday, and teach piano students. The experiment lasted 15 years.
Numerous assignments followed that challenged her adaptability. In the span of the next 30 years, she was sent to be a grade school teacher and principal, Aspirants' Mistress, high school teacher, Directress of Postulants, District Coordinator, and finally Community Councilor of the Mequon Province.
After those years of service, Sister Alice, having gone back to her baptismal name, did not return to classroom teaching, although she cherished loving memories of her students and faithful friends. She used her skills to help at St. Mary, West Bend, and the Motherhouse. In 1991, she retired at Notre Dame of Elm Grove where her quick wit, jokes, and stories were a constant source of entertainment. She died after a severe fall in 2009, leaving behind her last story of a genteel, wise, gracious woman, dedicated to a loving, and yes, joyful God.
(School Sisters of Notre Dame, Milwaukee Province)
Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord!
(formerly Sister Mary Samuel)
First Profession July 30, 1932
Motherhouse
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Alice Roepke was the first of six children born to John Roepke and Clara Neidhardt. Of her siblings, Alice wrote, "Two brothers and two sisters were added to the family before I was eleven, so I had plenty of chances to babysit." The family rejoiced when their father, a Lutheran, was received into the Church, a fact Alice recalled with pride. She added, "He and I were confirmed together."
After graduating from St. Elizabeth Grade School in Milwaukee, Alice entered the Juniorate in our Milwaukee Street Motherhouse. She was happy to continue taking piano lessons in the convent. She also treasured the name given her as a novice, Sister Mary Samuel, because to her it meant one being called in a special way by God.
Assigned to St. Mary, Menasha, after her profession, Sister Samuel was told by Mother Kostka that she was being sent there as an "experiment." Since there were not enough piano students to justify a full time music teacher, she was to teach 65 second graders, teach church music in the upper grades, play the organ for two or three masses each weekday, and teach piano students. The experiment lasted 15 years.
Numerous assignments followed that challenged her adaptability. In the span of the next 30 years, she was sent to be a grade school teacher and principal, Aspirants' Mistress, high school teacher, Directress of Postulants, District Coordinator, and finally Community Councilor of the Mequon Province.
After those years of service, Sister Alice, having gone back to her baptismal name, did not return to classroom teaching, although she cherished loving memories of her students and faithful friends. She used her skills to help at St. Mary, West Bend, and the Motherhouse. In 1991, she retired at Notre Dame of Elm Grove where her quick wit, jokes, and stories were a constant source of entertainment. She died after a severe fall in 2009, leaving behind her last story of a genteel, wise, gracious woman, dedicated to a loving, and yes, joyful God.
(School Sisters of Notre Dame, Milwaukee Province)
Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord!
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