We remember with gratitude and love

March 21, 1934 – October 30, 2024

Sister Mary Ellen Auffert surely walked the walk when it came to the social teachings of the Catholic Church. From her rural home in northern Missouri, she came to the Mount for a Catholic college education and then followed a call to the monastic life. In her early years, she taught in various settings. When the Vatican called upon U.S. religious communities to send missionaries to developing countries, she eagerly went to the Mount’s foundation in Mineiros, Brazil. She was there from 1967 to 1975 and returned there for three more years beginning in 1983. Between those two missionary periods, she worked at Benedictine College and became deeply involved in pro-life issues while working in campus ministry there. 

On her return from Brazil, she was able to become more deeply involved in the pro-life ministry and became a founder of Pro-Life Religious International to give aid to those working in pro-life activities. Her last ministry was once again heeding the call for justice, this time with immigrant laborers in Tecumseh, Nebraska. She took charge of the Catholic school there and advocated for the needs of the children and their families in a time when immigrants were often unwelcome. Energetic and vocal about her beliefs and her dedication to God’s people suffering from injustice or lack of respect, she was mourned at her death not only by her Mount sisters and her family, but by many other people who were inspired by her in her local activities and her Brazilian ministry.  

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In Memoriam: Oblates 

Oblate Judith Valente offers this remembrance: 

Julia Clem, who died on September 4, 2024, was a true Atchisonian. Julie, as most of us called her, was born in Atchison, graduated from Mount St. Scholastica College, married an Atchison boy, raised their two children in Atchison, and stayed there for the rest of her life. It is perhaps fitting that she ended her days on earth under the care of the Dooley Center staff, as you could say Julie was cared for throughout her life by the Mount community and she returned that love amply to the sisters and oblates. Even after she contracted a serious form of cancer, Julie continued her commitment to the Mount by becoming an oblate and volunteering at Sophia Center. With her husband Ray (who passed away in 2019) and later her daughter Mary Lynn, Julie was a fixture at the Sunday morning Mass in the Choir Chapel.  

Julie loved being with people. She loved good conversation and a good meal. And throughout the years she had cancer, Julie fought and fought to stay with her children Michael and Mary Lynn (also an oblate), her grandchildren, and her great-grandchildren. Still, there was only so much her petite body could withstand despite her expansive spirit. 

Now the spirit of joy in living and loving that was so strong in Julie lives on in all who were privileged to know her. I take comfort too in knowing she is reunited with Ray, the love of her life. They both were models of Benedictine hospitality, humility, compassion, and faith. Although they are no longer with us in the flesh, they remain a gift to all who knew them, a gift that keeps on giving. 

Diana Layes, who died on August 14, 2024, was a cherished member of the Trinity oblate deanery. For several years, she organized monthly meetings and kept the deanery on track with upcoming events and news from the Mount. A retired nurse, Diana was quietly cheerful and always prepared for prayer and study of the Rule, which guided her life.  

When Diana received a medical diagnosis from which she wouldn’t recover, she decided not to spend her last years or months fighting the disease. Instead, grounded in her deep faith and certainty of God’s love and support, she poured herself into caring for her family and others who needed nursing and the “ear of her heart.” She continued as a hospice volunteer and as a tutor at Keeler Women’s Center up to the last weeks of her life. 

Diana was an inspiration to everyone in her deanery and to all those she served. She exemplified courage, humility, and obedience and expressed all of these qualities with generosity and love for her family and community. 

Oblate Hilary Lohrman, 69, of Terre Haute, Indiana, died October 2, 2024, at the Terre Haute home she shared with her husband of 38 years, Ed Lohrman. She raised a daughter and son and cherished her grandchildren.

After spending years in the nursing profession, Hilary became acquainted with the Rule of St. Benedict and found her spiritual home with the Benedictine sisters of Mount St. Scholastica. She became a Benedictine oblate and mentored others in the study of the Rule. Her study program continues to be used with beginners in the Mount’s oblate program.  Later, Hilary completed the Souljourners spiritual direction training program at Sophia Spirituality Center at the Mount and became a well-known and sought-after spiritual guide in the Kansas City area. 

Hilary was a seeker, an artist, a gifted creator of rituals, and a guide for individuals and groups on the spiritual journey. Those who knew her best remember her, too, as a lover of horses and animals, a gifted writer, and a friend, but most of all, a woman of deep faith who was immersed in Benedictine spirituality. 

Kathy England, who died October 28, 2024, was a pillar of the Topeka oblate deanery. She had returned to her native Topeka after a long career as a teacher and mental health practitioner. She also returned to the Westminster Presbyterian Church in which she had been raised and quickly became deeply involved in various church activities including liturgy planning, choir, study groups and children’s summer lunch programs. 

Early in her return, she discovered Sophia Center and was soon a regular retreatant, a professed Mount oblate, and a Souljourners graduate. Her deep devotion to Benedictine spirituality came to also nourish her parish life as she taught others about liturgy and lectio, and often brought one or more people from her church to retreats in Atchison. So closely did she associate with the Mount that she asked for a sister to deliver one of the two eulogies at her funeral. 

Virginia (Jenny) Fenner, who died November 30, 2024, was an Oklahoma City resident for most of her life and an oblate of Red Plains Priory. When that community united with the Mount, she joyfully transferred her oblation and continued to be involved in oblate activities. Like so many other oblates, she had a passion for helping others. For her, it was through volunteering at a crisis hotline and with the United Way, coupled with political involvement through letter writing and marches to advocate for changes that would aid the most vulnerable.  

Her other deep interest was the arts, having been a music major in college, a soloist for plays and weddings, and even Miss Oklahoma City in her youth. She was a devoted wife and mother and an example to all who knew this gentle soul.  Her obituary contained the following summary of her later years: “Despite the struggles with her health, Jenny showed courage and determination and remained present to her family and friends. Her listening ear, wise counsel, and devotion to her faith helped and inspired many.”