Sister Mary Leonilla Russer 1908-1975

RUSSER, CLAVERIA, WIBORATA

Posted By: Merllene Andre Bendixen (email)
Date: 7/26/2011 at 20:57:26

Sister Mary Leonilla’s Rites Held
Estherville – Sister Mary Leonilla Russer, 66, Estherville, died early Saturday morning at Holy Family Hospital, Estherville.

Funeral services were held at 10 a.m. Monday at Holy Family Hospital Chapel with burial in St. Patrick’s Cemetery.

She was born October 14, 1908 at Wachenzel, Bavaria, Germany to Hubert and Maria Russer and received her education in Wachenzell. On March 6, 1926 she joined the order of the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother and came to the United States on November 27, 1926.
Sister Leonilla finished her high school education in Milwaukee and entered nurses training in Tulsa, Okla. in 1935. She graduated as a registered nurse in 1938 and was employed at St. Michael’s Hospital in Stevens Point, Wis. From 1955 until 1959 she served as administrator at a hospital in Roswell, N.M.

She came to Holy Family Hospital as a surgical nurse and a purchasing agent.

Sister Leonilla is survived by six sisters, Sister Mary Claveria, Milwaukee, Wis., mother house; Sister Mary Wiborata, Denkendorf, Germany; four married sisters in Germany. She also had one brother who was missing in action during World War II. (Estherville Daily News, Estherville, IA, January 6, 1975)