Sister Angela Retires After 59 Years of Ministry

When Sister Angela Ostermann entered the Mount in 1961 after graduating from Mount St. Scholastica College (MSSC) with a degree in home economics, it never occurred to her that she might become a dietician. However, she said,

“Mother Celeste Hemmen and Sister Romana Farrell had the foresight that the community would need someone with dietetic experience.”

In 1963 she was sent to the University of Kansas (KU) to obtain a master’s degree in Nutrition and Dietetics. What followed was a long career as director of food service and dietician or consultant dietician for the Mount as well as instructor at MSSC and Benedictine College (BC) in the Home Economics and Health, Physical Education, and Recreation departments.

Sister Angela is grateful she was asked to take on this role for the community because she saw it “as a way to serve people and meet their nutritional needs.” She faced a number of challenges through the years, including the move of the infirmary and kitchen to Dooley Center in 1972 and the need to become more involved in nursing home operation after Dooley Center was licensed through Medicaid in 1993. Along the way, she kept abreast of professional developments as a member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the Kansas Dietetic Association, and the Allied Health Alumni Association at KU (serving as president of the KU group from 1985-1987). She also served on the Board for the Northeast Kansas Area Vocational-Technical school from 1977-1988.

Another way Sister Angela served the community was as formation director from 1989-1994; she prepared for this new ministry by attending the St. Louis Religious Formation Institute in 1988. During her time as formation director, she continued to teach nutrition courses at BC (she was an instructor at the school until 2012).

As she looks back on her 59 years of service, Sister Angela says,

“It’s been a very fulfilling career and a wonderful way to get to know a lot of the sisters and our guests.”

She now looks forward to doing some traveling, having time to visit with sisters who reside in Dooley Center, and letting someone else do menu planning for the community!