+Sister Mildred (Beata) Vey, O.S.B.
March 16, 1929 – January 3, 2010

Sister Sister Mildred (Beata) Vey, OSB, 80, a Benedictine Sister of Mount St. Scholastica, Atchison, Kansas., died Sunday, January 3, 2010. The vigil service will be Tuesday, January 5, 2010, at 7 p.m. in the monastery chapel and the Mass of Resurrection will be offered there Wednesday, January 6, at 10:30am.

One of the four children of Eugene C. and Mary Julia Thunell Vey, Sister Mildred was born in Pittsburgh, Penn., March 16, 1929. She entered the Mount St. Scholastica community January 25, 1948; made monastic profession August 11, 1949, and final profession August 15, 1952. Sister Mildred earned the B.A. in mathematics from Mount St. Scholastica College, Atchison, and continued her studies in math and education, achieving a Master’s from Montclair State College, NJ, in 1970. She taught in grade and high schools in Kansas, Missouri, Colorado, and Nebraska; and from 1973 to 2000 tutored and taught high school math in St. Louis, Mo, principally with the Meda P. Washington Education Center. When Sister Mildred returned to Atchison, she volunteered help in recreation at Dooley Center and was a weekly volunteer at the Atchison Animal Shelter. She extended particular care to the monastery dining room and initiated several amenities there.

Sister Mildred is preceded in death by her parents, by her brother Eugene C., Jr., and her beloved sister Dorothy Ann (Dotty) Belsh. She is survived by her sister, Sister Virginia (Pauline) Vey, of Benet Hill Monastery, Colorado Springs, Colo.; by her nieces Ann M. Belsh and Mary Belsh Seminatore; her nephew Jule R. Belsh, all of Pittsburgh, Penn.; and by her monastic family.

Memorials may be sent to Mount St. Scholastica.

Let us remember her gratefully in our prayers.


S. Mildred's memorial card

“There is an appointed time for everything,
and a time for every affair under the heavens.”
Ecclesiastes 3:1

With the swiftness of “appointed time,” Sister Mildred hastened home to God after a brief illness. She entered the community January 25, 1948, and made monastic profession August 11, 1949. Sister Mildred’s study and teaching usually had their source in mathematics, nursing, or art, and she used these areas to help improve the lives of others. She taught both mathematics and art in almost every one of the community schools to which she was assigned; and for over 17 years was associated with the Meda P. Washington Education Center, an alternative high school in St. Louis, Mo., tutoring and teaching math to those who benefited from special assistance. She had a dedication to disadvantaged youth and the poor. On her return to Atchison, Sister Mildred helped in Dooley Center evening recreation for several years, and oversaw the needs of the monastery dining room until her death. Sister Mildred received her Bachelor’s in mathematics from Mount St. Scholastica College, and continued her study of math and education, earning a Master’s from Montclair State College, NJ. Her interest in animals led her to volunteer weekly at the Atchison Animal Shelter. She freely shared her unique approach to the ordinary and the unusual in life. She is survived by her sister, Sister Virginia Vey, of Benet Hill Monastery, Colorado. Let us remember her gratefully in our prayers.

Reflection given at the Vigil service.