- June 18, 2019 Obituaries
July 1, 1928 – June 15, 2019
Please pray for the repose of the soul of Sister Audrey Olson (S. Rose Christine) who passed away on June 15 at Nazareth Living Center in St. Louis, MO. She was 90 years old.
Sister Audrey was born in Peoria, Illinois. She entered the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet (CSJ), St. Louis Province on September 15, 1946, and was received into the novitiate on March 19, 1947, as Sister Rose Christine. She earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Loretto Heights College in Denver, Colorado, in 1958; a master’s degree in modern European history from St. Louis University in 1963; and a doctorate in American history from the University of Kansas, Lawrence in 1970.
In 1949, Sister Audrey began her 70 years of ministry in education, teaching at St. Teresa of Avila Grade School in St. Louis. Throughout the 1950s, she taught at St. James Grade School in Denver. In the early 1960s, she taught at Little Flower Grade School in Mobile, Alabama; St. Margaret of Scotland Grade School in St. Louis; and Sacred Heart Central High School in Indianapolis, Indiana.
In 1965, S. Audrey went on to serve as a faculty member at Avila College in Kansas City, Missouri, for a year before working towards her doctorate. Upon completion of her Ph.D. four years later, in 1970, she returned to Avila College and remained there until 1976.
During this time, beginning in 1973, Sister Audrey also began serving as the St. Louis province’s social justice secretariat coordinator. She held this position until 1981. In addition, from 1980 to 1982, she was the director of the Justice and Peace Office for the Diocese of Belleville, Illinois.
That same year, in 1982, she moved to Cuernavaca, Mexico, for a few months to study at the Spanish Center for bi-lingual multicultural studies. She then went on to serve as the director of the Justice and Peace Office for the Diocese of Lacrosse, Wisconsin, in 1983.
Seven years later, Sister Audrey returned to St. Louis to serve her CSJ community. From 1990 to 2006, she was as the coordinator for Association and Partnership. Then, from 1996 to 2002, she was the community life coordinator for the sisters at Nazareth Living Center.
Sister Audrey retired in 2002 and became a volunteer for the St. Louis province Archives Department serving as a part-time archival aide and then part-time transcriber. In 2014, she moved to Nazareth Living Center where she carried out her ministry of prayer and presence while also continuing to volunteer as a transcriber. She served in these ministries until her passing.
A Memorial Mass will be held for S. Audrey on July 1 at 1 p.m. at Nazareth Living Center, located at 2 Nazareth Lane, St. Louis, MO 63129.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, St. Louis Province, 6400 Minnesota Ave., St. Louis, MO 63111-2899. Donate online.