Sister Thea Sandusky

Sister Thea (Phyllis Lenore) Sandusky, 104, died March 11, 2013, at St. Scholastica Monastery. Born to Fred and Joanne (Zellman) Sandusky on June 4, 1908, Sister Thea was from Stevens Point, Wisconsin, and was in her fifty-fourth year of Benedictine monastic life.
Although Sister Thea felt called to religious life at a young age, she graduated from Moore's Business College in Racine, Wisconsin, and did secretarial work for a number of years. In time, she cared for her aging parents. With the death of her mother in 1956 and her father in a nursing home, she sought entrance into St. Scholastica Monastery.
She became a postulant on September 14, 1956, professed her Triennial Vows on July 11, 1958, and her Perpetual Vows on July 11, 1961. In 1960 Sister Thea assisted with the elderly at St. Ann's Residence, which was then part of St. Mary's Hospital. When the new St. Ann's Home opened in 1963, she began a 23-year ministry as the Information Desk receptionist and clerical assistant.

She continued to use her skills as a clerical worker and caretaker to the elderly when she returned to the Monastery in 1986 by assisting at the Information Desk and on Benet Hall (the Monastery's nursing unit). She also assisted with mailings in the Development office when needed. In 1998 Sister Thea became a resident on Benet Hall where she faithfully prayed for members of the Community and many others outside the Community.

Sister was a life-long lover of literature and classical musica�"she especially appreciated a good mystery. In 2008 Sister Thea celebrated her one-hundred year birthday and her Golden Jubileea�"both testaments of her joy in "being in the Lord's service."
She was preceded in death by her parents, Fred and Joanne Sandusky, and her brothers Donald and Clarence Sandusky. In addition to the Sisters of St. Scholastica Monastery, she is survived by her beloved brother Ralph, nieces and nephews, and many friends.

A wake service will be held March 16, 2013, at 10:00 a.m. in Our Lady Queen of Peace Chapel, with the Mass of Christian Burial following at 11:00 a.m., with Father James Datko, OMI, presiding. Memorials to St. Scholastica Monastery are preferred. Arrangements are by the Dougherty Funeral Home.