Sister Louise Scheessele died June 25 at Seton Residence in Evansville, Ind., at age 96. Among her assignments, she served at De Paul Hospital and other ministries in St. Louis.
Born Margaret Mary Scheessele in Spencer County, Ind., she is a 1944 graduate of St. Mary’s School of Nursing in Evansville. Sister Louise entered the Daughters of Charity in St. Louis in March 1945; in 2020, she celebrated her jubilee anniversary of 75 years as a Daughter of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul. Sister Louise earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing education from DePaul University in Chicago in 1950 and a master’s degree in nursing service administration from Saint Louis University in St. Louis in 1954.
After initial formation in St. Louis, Sister Louise served in the health care ministry as a nurse and director of nursing service in Chicago; Montgomery, Alabama; and Los Angeles. In St. Louis, Sister Louise served as director of the nursing school at DePaul Hospital from 1952-61.
From 1965-87, she was administrator in hospitals in San Francisco; El Paso and Dallas, Texas; and Loup City, Neb. During this period, she was also a nursing instructor at Presentation College in Aberdeen, S.D., for five years. From 1987-90, Sister Louise served as the CEO of Daughters of Charity Services of San Antonio. In the following years, Sister Louise was a docent at the Seton Shrine in Emmitsburg, Md. She also served in the Archdiocese of St. Louis as director of residential care at the former Marillac Provincial House Infirmary in Normandy, in service to the senior sisters at Anna House in Bridgeton and director, and, later, volunteer at the Caritas Center in Normandy until 2007 when she moved to Seton Residence in Evansville.
Sister Louise served twice as a board member of DePaul Health Center in Bridgeton, 1975-80, and 1987-89.
Survivors include a sister, Sister Martha Scheessele, a Daughter of St. Mary of Providence. Sister Louise was buried in St. Joseph Cemetery in Evansville. A memorial Mass will be held at a later date.
