Sister Stephanie Martens died in Marshfield, Wisconsin, at 7:34 p.m. on September 23, 1981. The Mass for Christian Burial was offered for her on Saturday, September 26, 1981, at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Marshfield. Reverend Thomas Heskin, O.S.M., a hospital chaplain was the principal celebrant. Other Priests as con-celebrants were Rev. John P. O’Malley, O.S.M., Rev. John Agnew, Rev. David Brehm, S.J., Rev. Monsignor Alphonse Schuh, Rev. Anthony Fischer, Rev. Oscar Carmer, Rev. Myron Meinen, and Rev. Donald Wilger.

Over seventy-five members of Sister Stephanie’s family were in attendance. The remainder of the church was filled with friends and employees of St. Joseph’s Hospital. Sister Stephanie had planned the liturgy. The songs and readings were her farewell message to all present. The Gospel she chose was John 4:3-42, Jesus and the Samaritan Woman at the well.

Sister Stephanie Martens was born to Harry and Emma Martens in Coleman, Wisconsin, on May 25, 1932. She was baptized Maxine and was the eighth child in a family of eleven, having five sisters and five brothers. (One brother preceded her in death, as did her mother.) She once said that “We have always been an extremely close family.” One of the reasons for this, she said, “stemmed from Mom insisting that having each other was a very important element in our life.”

Sister graduated from Coleman High School in 1950 and was accepted into Mercy Hospital School of Nursing in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, where she became acquainted with the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother. On December 10, 1950, after three months at Mercy she entered the Congregation of the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother at Mother of Sorrows Convent in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She began her novitiate on August 12, 1951, at which time she received the name Mary Stephen of Christ Crucified. She changed her name to Stephanie in 1976. After completing her novitiate, she pronounced her first vows on August 12, 1953. She said, “I had waited in excitement to commit myself to the Lord through vows. It was a very happy occasion in my life.”

Sister Stephanie studied dietetics at Cardinal Stritch College, Milwaukee, and at Mount Mercy College in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and graduated from Mount Mercy in February 1956 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Home Economics. Her first assignment as a dietitian was at Mercy Hospital in Oshkosh, from 1957 to 1961. She took her final vows in Milwaukee on August 12, 1958. In 1961, she became Director of Dietary at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Marshfield, Wisconsin. She held this position until 1976.

It was in 1971 that the diagnosis of chronic lymphocytic leukemia was made. Although the doctor said it was a “mild disease,” Sister was very apprehensive about her prognosis. While she openly acknowledged her dislike for dietetics, she had willingly accepted this work as the will of God. For a while her diagnosis put a halt to any plans for moving out of dietetics and into some form of direct ministry. However, she eventually chose to pursue pastoral ministry and not only believed this to be the will of God but felt deeply satisfied at finally being able to minister directly to people.

She received a Masters degree in Theology in Health Care from the Aquinas Institute of Theology, Dubuque, Iowa, in 1978. In August of that year she celebrated her silver jubilee at Mother of Sorrows Convent, Milwaukee. After graduation from Aquinas she spent a year at Methodist Hospital in Rochester, Minnesota, for clinical pastoral education courses and experience. On September 1, 1979, she became the Director of the Pastoral Care Department at St. Joseph’s Hospital, Marshfield.

Sister Stephanie will always be remembered for her joy and love of life, for her warmth, compassion, and hospitality to all who were part of her life. It was evident to those who knew her that in her journey with her Lord, He was leading her very deeply into his life, as was evidenced by her growth in love of prayer, of the Eucharist, her Community, and of the Church.

Survivors include her father Harry, five sisters—Mrs. Donald (Louise) Malmstadt, Mrs. Robert (Evelyn) Bachhuber, Mrs. Daniel (Patricia) Wasechuk, Mrs. J. Ronald (Denise) Frank, and Mrs. Richard (Mary) Ziemer; four brothers—Frank, Donald, Thomas, and Larry; and more than seventy nieces and nephews.