Sister Laura Goeckner, ASC, died July 24 at the Ruma Center in Ruma, Illinois. She was 93 years old and had been a professed member of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ for 74 years.
Sister Laura was one of nine children born to William and Rosa (Probst) Goeckner of Effingham, Illinois. Five of her sisters also were Adorers of the Blood of Christ.
Sister Laura was a food service manager for almost 60 years at St. Ann Home in Chester, Catholic Children’s Home in Alton, St. Henry Seminary in Belleville, and Ruma Center in Ruma, all in Illinois, and at De Mattias Hall House of Studies on the campus of Saint Louis University.
She also cooked and baked for St. Rose Convent in St. Rose, Illinois, and Nazareth Living Center in St. Louis. She provided home care at St. Vincent (now Taylorville) Memorial Hospital in Taylorville, Illinois, and the residence for the Congregation of St. Joseph in St. Louis. She worked at St. Vivian Parish in Grants-Milan, New Mexico, coordinating activities and cooking at Casa San Jose, a home for pregnant women.
She studied food service at Fontbonne College in St. Louis and at various workshops in Illinois. She was a member of a group now known as the Association of Nutrition and Food Service Professionals from 1979 to 1984.
Sisters, friends and family remember Sister Laura for her kindness, care and willingness to listen to others, as well as for her sense of humor and adventure. She and her siblings frequently enjoyed bus tours to scenic places. In retirement, she drove sisters to appointments, and quilted and assembled quilts, stitched, and decorated cakes.
The sisters who live at Ruma Center held a vigil of prayer for her on July 30. A Mass will be celebrated at a later date when family and friends are able to attend.
