Obituary | Sr. Mary Louise Gagnon, CSJ
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A funeral Mass was celebrated July 18 at Nazareth Living Center Chapel in south St. Louis County for Sister Mary Louise Gagnon, a retired teacher who was a Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet for 84 years.
Sister Mary Louise, 105, died July 13 at Nazareth of chronic respiratory failure.
Born in Marinette, Wis., Sister Mary Louise entered the Sisters of St. Joseph in 1927. The next year she received the habit and name Sister Mary Alonzo. She changed to her baptismal name in 1968.
Sister Mary Louise was known as an exceptional primary teacher, especially in the first-grade classroom. She taught in Kansas City and St. Joseph, Mo., Denver, Michigan, Georgia and Wisconsin. She taught at St. Margaret of Scotland School in St. Louis from 1942-50.
She prepared hundreds of children for the sacraments of Reconciliation and First Eucharist. She instilled in those children a great love for the Eucharist and the sacraments. After 48 years in the classroom, she retired at the age of 72. She then did volunteer work at a parish in Oconto, Wis., and at the Riverside Nursing Home there. She later lived in Green Bay, Wis., and at the age of 84 moved to Nazareth in part because of the opportunity to attend daily Mass. She was known for always having her rosary in her hands and having her TV focused on the chapel.
