The Stover Family
By Sister Beth Stover, CSJ
(Published Sept. 12, 2008) June 1st this year when we celebrated family day for the 125th Anniversary of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia, my three sisters, Jane Stover Morch, Dee Stover Eck, and Mary Ellen Stover Truex, wondered how many of those 125 years our family had a member as a Sister of St. Joseph. After a little research, we found that our great aunt, Sister Angela Doyle had received the habit in 1909, our aunt, Sister Rose Grennan, in 1927, and Sister Colleen and myself in 1960. Of the 125 years the Sisters of St. Joseph have been in Kansas, our family has had a Sister in the community continuously for 99 of those years. What a blessing and a grace of God!
This experience led me to further think about the influence that families, parishes, and local communities have in fostering vocations to the religious life. Research on the families and vocations to the Sisters of St. Joseph from St. John’s Parish in Beloit, KS. reveals the following:
The Heidrick family-Sisters of St. Joseph from 1904 to 1999, (95 yrs):
1904 to 1966 Sister Martina Heidrick aunt
1912 to 1955 Sister Wilhelmina Heidrick niece
1919 to 1982 Sister Lorena Heidrick niece
1922 to 1993 Sister Clement Marie Heidrick niece
1930 to 1999 Sister Carmella Heidrick cousin
1955 to 1986 Sister Delores Heidrick cousin
The Eilert/Selting Family-Sisters of St. Joseph from 1906 to present (102 yrs):
1906 to 1978 Sister Gertrude Selting aunt
1916 to 1982 Sister Rudolph Selting aunt
1918 to 2002 Sister Casimir Eilert aunt
1934 to 2001 Sister Frederic Eilert niece
1934 to present Sister Redempta Eilert niece
The Reiter Family-Sisters of St. Joseph from 1918 to present (90 yrs):
1918 to 1995 Sister Christopher Reiter aunt
1944 to present Sister Mary Reiter niece
The Doyle/Grennan/Stover Family-Sisters of St. Joseph from 1909 to present (99 yrs):
1909 to 1983 Sister Mary Angela Doyle great aunt
1927 to 2007 Sister Rose Grennan aunt
1960 to present Sisters Colleen and Beth Stover nieces
The Burke Family-Sisters of St. Joseph from 1911 to 1974 (63 yrs):
1911 to 1946 Sister Mary Virginia Burke sister
1911 to 1974 Sister Mariana Burke sister
The Deneke Family-Sisters of St. Joseph from 1906 to 2002 (96 yrs)
1906 to 1945 Sister Romanus Deneke aunt
1941 to 2002 Sister Henrita Deneke niece
Other Sisters of St. Joseph from St. John’s Parish in Beloit
1890 to 1937 Sister Stephanie Kuntz (47 yrs)
1890 to 1956 Sister Evangelist Bonnifield (66 yrs)
1893 to 1969 Sister Christina Hoffman (76 yrs)
1895 to 1956 Sister Mary Raymond Wagner (61 yrs)
1907 to 1955 Sister Winifred Hinrich (48 yrs)
1921 to 1972 Sister Etta Louise Knaup (51 yrs)
1922 to 1984 Sister Agnes Virginia Engelbert (62 yrs)
1924 to 1931 Sister Elizabeth Marie Niehaus ( 7 yrs)
1948 to present Sister Charlotte Lutgen (60 yrs)
(Please let me know if I have overlooked any family member from Beloit who was a
Sister of St. Joseph.)
It has been 48 years since a young woman from the St. John’s Beloit Parish responded to God’s call to follow Christ as a Sister of St. Joseph of Concordia. Families and parishes are called to foster vocations to religious life. I invite every young girl/woman to reflect: “Is God Calling You?” I encourage you to pray every day to know the vocation God is calling you to follow. You, too, might be called to be a Sister of St. Joseph, to consecrate your life in service of the Church and help the dear neighbor be united to Christ. You might even start… or renew a tradition in your family!
