- April 24, 2020 Obituaries
(S. Stephen Marie)
July 21, 1939 – April 24, 2020
Please pray for the repose of the soul of Sister Karen Langhi, who passed away on April 24 at Nazareth Living Center in St. Louis. She was 80 years of age.
Sister Karen was born on July 21, 1939, to parents Bruno and Rose Mary (Happ) Langhi in Evanston, Illinois.
On March 13, 1958, she was received into the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet as Sister Stephen Marie. She received a bachelor’s degree in Latin/history/theology from Fontbonne College in 1962, a master’s degree in Latin/classical studies from Loyola University-Chicago in 1972 and, eventually, a master’s degree in pastoral liturgy from Santa Clara University in 1990.
In 1962, Sister Karen began her ministry at St. Elizabeth Elementary School in Kansas City, Missouri, teaching junior high before moving on to St. Francis de Sales High School in Denver for the next three years. After that, for 18 years, Sister Karen taught at St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Florissant, Missouri.
In 1984, she left education to become a parish minister, directing both liturgy and RCIA at Our Lady of Lourdes in Colusa, California (1984-85). Upon earning her master’s degree from Santa Clara University, she moved to Our Lady of the Snows in Redding, California (1986-90), and then to St. Isadore Church in Danville, California (1990-97). Her parish work concluded after serving the last five years at St. Thomas of Aquin Parish in San Jose, California.
Returning to St. Louis in 2003, Sister Karen tutored in Latin for a little more than a year before teaching a semester at Cor Jesu Academy and then Ursuline Academy for the next five years (2004-2009).
Sister Karen’s favorite hobby was to travel. Though, once she retired in 2009, that was only in memory. She went on to serve as a volunteer until moving to Nazareth Living Center in 2018, where she carried out her ministry of prayer and presence.
Funeral arrangements are pending.
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.