Obituaries

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Give a donation in honor of Sister Carol Geels

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Download the booklet for the Mass of Christian Burial as a PDF.

Sister Carol Geels, baptized Celesta Theresa, died peacefully June 19, 2024, at Nazareth Court, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

Celesta was born October 2, 1928, in Decatur, Indiana, the daughter of Agnes Rumschlag Geels and Joseph Geels.  She grew up in a loving, farm family of one son and four daughters where love of creation, music, and dancing were part of everyday, happy living.  

Celesta was educated by the Sisters of St. Agnes at St. Joseph Elementary School, Decatur, Indiana, and Decatur Catholic High School.  Influenced by the joyful spirit of the Sisters at school and by her aunt, Sister Ernestine Geels, she entered St. Agnes Convent in 1946. She made her first profession of vows in the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes as Sister Carol on August 15, 1949, in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. 

Sister Carol earned a B.S. in Elementary and Music Education from Marian College, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, and a Master of Education with emphasis in Guidance and Counseling from Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She continued her education at St. John’s University, Collegeville, Minnesota, in Liturgical Music, at Fordham University, Bronx, New York, in Scripture and Religious Studies, and at St. Mary’s University, Winona, Minnesota, in Administration.

For forty-two years, Sister Carol ministered in education as an elementary teacher, principal, and music teacher in parish schools in Wisconsin, New York, and Pennsylvania. During her final years of teaching, she was the K-8 music teacher at St. John the Baptist School in Jefferson, Wisconsin. She then spent six years as a volunteer at the Monroe Clinic in Monroe, Wisconsin (2004-2010). Interspersed with her teaching ministry, Sister served in leadership roles for the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes, as an Apostolic Councilor for Elementary Education (1971-1979) and as Local Coordinator and Administrator at the Motherhouse (1994-1999.) Following her years of active ministry, Sister resided at the CSA Motherhouse (2010-2016) volunteering in the CSA Sponsorship Ministry Office and assisting with the liturgical worship of the local community.

She became a resident of Nazareth Court and Center in January 2016.  She shared her love for music and her beautiful voice, enhancing the worship services for the sisters living with her in the retirement center. 

Sister Carol was preceded in death by her parents Joseph and Agnes (Rumschlag) Geels, her brother Carl (Betty, Norma) Geels and her sisters Dolores (Raymond) Ehinger, Naomi (Dale) Alles, and Vera (Gene) Johnson.  

She is survived by her nieces and nephews and their families and the Sisters of St. Agnes with whom she lived, prayed, and ministered.

Cremation has taken place.

Visitation will be held on Tuesday, July 16, 2024, from 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. and 
12:00 – 1:30 p.m. at Nazareth Court and Center, 375 Gillett Street, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

A Prayer Service in honor of Sister Carol will be held at 11:00 a.m., Tuesday, July 16, 2024, in Nazareth Center Chapel, 375 Gillett Street, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

The Liturgy of Christian Burial will be offered at 2:00 p.m., Tuesday, July 16, 2024, at St. Francis Home Chapel, 33 Everett Street, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, with Father Thomas Zelinski, OFM, Cap., presiding. Burial will follow at St. Joseph Springs Cemetery, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

Memorials may be directed to the CSA Mission Advancement Office, 320 County Road K, Fond du Lac, WI 54937.

The Sisters of St. Agnes and the Geels family are grateful to the nurses and staff of Nazareth Court and Center and Hospice Hope for their devoted care of Sister Carol.  

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Give a donation in honor of Sister Michele Welch

Download the prayer service booklet as a PDF.
Download the booklet for the Mass of Christian Burial as a PDF.

Sister Michele Welch, CSA, baptized Dorothy Jean, died peacefully June 8, 2024, at Nazareth Center, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

Dorothy was born June 19, 1931, in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, the eldest of seven children of Francis C. and Dorothy Kilps Welch. Her fondest childhood memories were the countless hours spent with her parents and siblings caring for and riding the horses that her family owned. These family experiences instilled in her a life-long love for nature and all things horse related. After her graduation from St. Joseph’s Grade School in Fond du Lac, Dorothy’s family moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where she attended Pius XI High School.  Inspired by the Sisters of St. Agnes and the School Sisters of St. Francis, her teachers in grade school and high school, Dorothy chose to enter St. Agnes Convent following high school graduation.  She made her first profession of vows in the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes as Sister Michele on August 15, 1952, in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. 

Sister Michele earned her BS in Education from Marian College, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, and her MA in Teaching Mathematics from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. Sister was a gifted and beloved teacher throughout her years in active ministry. Her initial teaching assignments were with elementary students in Muncie, Indiana; Elmhurst, Illinois; Kewaskum, Wisconsin; Bronx, New York; and St. Patrick’s School in Fond du Lac where she also served as principal. She discovered her greatest joy as a teacher when she was assigned to be head of the math department and math teacher at Beloit Catholic High School, Beloit, Wisconsin; Immaculate Conception High School, Elmhurst, Illinois; and St. Mary’s Springs Academy, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.  She taught in the math department at St. Mary’s Springs for twenty-seven years (1985-2013). She served there as a tutor until the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. 

Sister Michele attended classes in computer programming while earning her MA at Purdue University. These classes fascinated her and gave her the confidence to include computer programming into her advanced math classes beginning at Beloit Catholic High School and throughout the rest of her teaching career.

Sister Michele was cherished by her students as a teacher and for the interest she took in their extracurricular activities. She attended their football and basketball games and cheered them on at track meets. She assisted with organizing and creating the sets for school musicals. Students loved being in her class, soaking in her expertise, creativity, and ability to make learning enjoyable. She and her students shared many treasured memories of pranks they played on each other while excelling in their math studies and building lifelong friendships. 

In February 2002, Sister Michele was among the first sisters to reside at the newly built CSA motherhouse located at 320 County Road K, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. From there she would walk to St. Mary’s Springs to teach her classes or to tutor.  During her free time, she would often be seen sitting on the bench beside the Peace Pond near the front driveway of the motherhouse grounds communing with God and with nature. Other times, she was found tending to the convent library or working on jigsaw puzzles of all sizes and shapes, one of her favorite pastimes.  Sister joined the community of sisters at Nazareth Court and Center in Fond du Lac in November 2023 where she received loving care for her declining health until the time of her death.

Preceding Sister Michele in death were her parents, her sister Nancy Welch, and her brother James Welch.

Sister is survived by her sisters Kathleen Delagnes and Suzanne Welch; her brothers David (Barbara) and Michael Welch; and the Sisters of St. Agnes with whom she lived, prayed, and ministered.

Cremation has taken place.

Visitation will be held on Friday, June 21, 2024, from 9—11 a.m. and 12—1:30 p.m. at Nazareth Court and Center, 375 Gillett Street, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.
A Prayer Service in honor of Sister Michele will be held at 11:00 a.m., Friday, June 21, in Nazareth Center Chapel, 375 Gillett Street, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

The Liturgy of Christian Burial will be offered at 2:00 p.m., Friday, June 21, 2024, at St. Francis Home Chapel, 33 Everett Street, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, with Father Thomas Zelinski, OFM, Cap., presiding. Burial will follow at St. Joseph Springs Cemetery, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

Memorials may be directed to the CSA Mission Advancement Office, 320 County Road K, Fond du Lac, WI 54937.

The Sisters of St. Agnes and the Welch family are grateful to the nurses and staff of Nazareth Court and Center and Hospice Hope for their devoted care of Sister Michele.

Zacherl Funeral Home is serving the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes.

Download Sister's obituary as a PDF.  
Descarga la obituario en español

Download the prayer service booklet as a PDF.
Download the booklet for the Mass of Christian Burial as a PDF.

Give a donation in honor of Sister Julia Pfeifer

There were some technical difficulties during Sister Julia's funeral; we apologize for the audio disruption.

Sister Julia Pfeifer, CSA, baptized Rose Mary, died peacefully May 1, 2024, at Nazareth Center, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

Rose Mary was born with her twin sister, Anna Mary, in Hyacinth, Kansas on July 18, 1924, to Peter A. and Rose Liberto-Kloppertans Pfeifer. She grew up on a small wheat farm with her twin and fifteen other siblings. The year the twins were born, their father boasted that they had the best wheat crop in Ellis County, Kansas. Rose Mary attended Silverdale District 42 rural grade school and earned her high school diploma from Hays High School, Hays, Kansas in 1943. After high school, she and her twin sister worked at Walker Airforce Base, Walker, Kansas. As World War II continued, a shortage of teachers in Ellis County drew her to enroll in Ft. Hays State College, Hays, Kansas, to earn her teaching certificate. She then taught for five years in rural public elementary schools in Ellis County. In 1950, at the age of twenty-six, Rose Mary decided to enter St. Agnes Convent. She made her first profession of vows in the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes as Sister Julia on August 15, 1953, in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

Sister Julia earned her BS in Elementary Education from Marian College, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. She enhanced this degree with lifelong continuing education credits in religious education, theology, pastoral ministry, and library science. She spent her first year in formation for religious life teaching primary grades at St. Patrick’s School in Hudson, Wisconsin. As a novice and during her first years as a professed sister, she worked at St. Joseph Orphanage, Assinins, Michigan and at Holy Family Orphanage, Marquette, Michigan as Prefect of Girls. From 1958-1996, Sister served as a teacher, religious education director, librarian, school secretary, and pastoral minister in parish settings in Illinois, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Kansas. In 1997, Sister Julia returned to Hays, Kansas, engaging in a variety of ministries in St. Joseph’s School and Parish and the newly-formed Holy Family School. She could be found in the library fostering a love of reading among children, serving as school secretary, participating in the Foster Grandparent program, teaching CCD classes, visiting parishioners in hospitals and nursing homes, and providing meals on wheels. Throughout her years in active ministry, Sister loved working with children and children loved her. She will also be remembered for her warm smile and witty sense of humor that could brighten anyone’s day.
In September 2008, Sister Julia joined the community of sisters at Nazareth Court and Center in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. She enjoyed life with her CSA sisters in this setting while receiving loving care until the time of her death.

Preceding Sister Julia in death were her parents; her brothers Paul, Julius, James, Floyd, Eugene, Gerald, Gilbert, Al, Herbert; her sisters Sister Alma Rose, CSA, Anna Mary Fisher, Virginia Jacobs, Ritha Linenberger.

Sister is survived by her sisters Twila (Harold) Smith, Clarine (James) Baker, Doloris (Ralph) Pederson; her sisters-in-law Sandy Pfeifer and Henrietta Pfeifer; her beloved nieces and nephews and their families, and the Sisters of St. Agnes with whom she lived, prayed and ministered.

Cremation will take place.

A Prayer Service in honor of Sister Julia will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, May 3, 2024, in Nazareth Center Chapel, 375 Gillett Street, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

A Memorial Mass will be offered at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, May 3, 2024, at St. Francis Home Chapel, 33 Everett Street, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, with Father Thomas Zelinski, OFM, Cap., presiding. Burial will take place on a later date at St. Joseph Springs Cemetery, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

Memorials may be directed to the CSA Mission Advancement Office, 320 County Road K, Fond du Lac, WI 54937.
The Sisters of St. Agnes and the Pfeifer family are grateful to the nurses and staff of Nazareth Court and Center and Hospice Hope for their devoted care of Sister Julia.

Zacherl Funeral Home is serving the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes.