Sister Valeria (formerly Mary Rose Martin) Beuke, 89, died peacefully May 13 at Anna House at The Sarah Community in Bridgeton, as a sister prayed with her. A Mass of Christian burial was celebrated at The Sarah Community on May 19.
Valeria Genevieve was born Nov. 28, 1933, the ninth of 10 children born to Elizabeth (Hilke) and Martin Beuke in Washington, Missouri. She was baptized the same day at St. Francis Borgia Church in Washington.
Valeria attended St. Francis Borgia Elementary and High School, staffed by the School Sisters of Notre Dame (SSND). In her sophomore year, she felt a strong inclination to enter religious life. She completed her high school education at Notre Dame High School as an aspirant.
Valeria entered the candidature at Sancta Maria in Ripa on Aug. 30, 1951. She was received into the novitiate on Aug. 1, 1953, and given the name Mary Rose Martin. She professed first vows on Aug. 2, 1954, and final vows on Aug. 2, 1960. She later returned to her baptismal name.
She received a bachelor’s degree in English from the former Notre Dame College in St. Louis in 1963 and a master’s degree in English from California State University in Long Beach, California, in 1972. She was a participant in the Global Apostolic Awareness Program (GAAP) in Honduras and Guatemala in 1976. She earned a master’s degree in theology from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas, in 1981.
Sister Valeria’s years of ministry included teaching in Louisiana and Illinois and in Jefferson City, Missouri. She was a principal in Illinois and California. She was the coordinator of religious education at St. David School in Arnold. This was followed by teaching at Notre Dame High School in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.
In 1984, Sister Valeria began 24 years of ministry with the Tohono O’odham Nation on the Tohono O’odham Reservation near the Sancta Rosa Mission in Sells, Arizona. During these years, she was a pastoral minister in 12 small villages, taught English at the high school on the reservation, was the lead teacher in the elementary school, taught adult students and directed the Family and Child Education program.
Returning to St. Louis in 2008, she was a tutor in the Notre Dame Tutorial/Learning Center on the Sancta Maria in Ripa campus. She then coordinated the ministry of the Migrant Whole Health Outreach in Kennett, Missouri, for two years. She also provided a variety of services on the Sancta Maria in Ripa campus.
In 2017, she was a tutor at the Prenger Family Center in Jefferson City and also offered volunteer services at Immaculate Conception in Loose Creek, Missouri. She returned to Sancta Maria in Ripa and was a driver at Theresa Center. In March 2020, she moved to Mother of Perpetual Help in St. Louis before transferring to Elizabeth House at The Sarah Community in Bridgeton in early November 2022 and to Anna House in December 2022.
Sister Valeria is survived by two sisters, Mary Jo McDonald of Washington, Missouri, and Antoinette Osseck of Krakow, Missouri. She was preceded in death by her parents, Martin and Elizabeth Beuke; her brothers, Jerome, James and Stanley; and sisters Evelyn Tobben, Genevieve Klott, Josephine Frankenberg and Jacqueline Klott.
Sister Valeria considered her 24 years of living with the Tohono O’odham Nation the most rewarding of her life. Through them, she was enriched by their faith, generosity, resilience and culture. She embedded herself in the culture and gave generously in response to any need. She was a determined person who willingly shared the Good News and her talents with others.
Burial was in the Sancta Maria in Ripa cemetery.
