Sister Laurita Joseph Nemec, CSJ

A kind woman with a beautiful smile and a great sense of humor

On October 10, 1921, Joseph and Josephine (Klueppel) Nemec of St. Louis, welcomed daughter Geraldine, their second child. Eventually, they were parents of four daughters and one son. Gerri started at the public school, then attended Saint Mary Magdalen. When she first met a Sister of St. Joseph, she thought, “That is what I want to be.” Dad’s work as a printer sent them to North St. Louis where she had the School Sisters of Notre Dame. Returning to South St. Louis, Gerri was enrolled at St. Thomas of Aquin. “We were as poor as church mice. It was the depression era, but we had a wonderful family life despite dad’s illness [tuberculosis].”

She had made up her mind that she wanted to enter religious life right after graduation. Because she was so young, it was suggested she go to high school first. Eventually, it was agreed that she could enter when she was 15. After a year at home helping her mother with her younger siblings, she entered the community on February 11, 1941. On August 15 of that year, she received the habit and the name Sister Laurita Joseph. At the time, for first profession, she had to wait six months until she was 18.

S. Laurita neither wanted nor was prepared for teaching. She asked to do manual work and became an assistant sacristan at Nazareth in 1944. About six months later, she was sent to teach primary at Notre Dame de Lourdes in Wellston—and found that she loved it. A year later, she returned to Nazareth to work in the dining room. In 1946, she taught primary at St. Vincent de Paul in St. Louis. “I loved that place," she said. "In my day, you could see pillows stuffed in the windows. People were so poor, but I just loved that place.” In 1949, S. Laurita found herself teaching at St. Mary Cathedral School in Peoria, Illinois, and then, Nativity in Chicago (1952). She went on to teach primary and some intermediate grades at Saint Francis de Sales in Denver, Colorado, in 1955.

Throughout this time, S. Laurita took whatever classes were available to complete her high school education. Over the course of summers and Saturdays, she earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Loretto Heights College in Denver (1959). Then, while teaching at St. Patrick in Denver, she received word that her dad’s health was failing. Requesting to be stationed nearer to St. Louis to assist her mom with her dad’s care, she was sent to St. Philip Neri (1960). After her dad died, S. Laurita was missioned at St. Joseph in Marietta, Georgia (1962), which she "dearly, dearly loved." "People were so gracious," she said. "That’s where I learned to drive when I was about 50 years old.”

Her next assignment was at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Kansas City in 1965. S. Laurita taught intermediate students at her next two missions: Our Lady of Lourdes, University City (1967) and Saint Agnes (1971), in St. Louis. In 1974, she taught at Ste. Genevieve in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri. Her teaching continued at Our Lady of the Presentation, Overland, Missouri (1978); and St. Anthony of Padua (1981) and St. Margaret of Scotland (1985), both in St. Louis. Then S. Laurita became a substitute teacher from 1991 to 1994 and was also available to help Sister Mary Jo Ritter, a licensed foster mother who was a classroom teacher. S. Laurita loved the newborn babies and was delighted to babysit them during the day.

In 1995, she then went on to volunteer at the front desk
at Alexian Brothers Hospital and also helped out in the Spiritual Care Department. Sister Charline Sullivan asked S. Laurita if she would help out in Archives (1996). In 2004, she returned to Saint Alexis until she moved to Nazareth Living Center in 2005.

Asked about spiritual opportunities at Nazareth, she said, “We are so blessed to have this Paulette [Sister Paulette Gladis] and Pat [Sister Patricia Quinn] and Betty [Betty Fuller] … and Father O’Connor is superb.”

By Sister Helen Oates