1923–2025
Dear Sisters, Relatives, and Friends,
At approximately 2:00 p.m. on Monday, March 10, 2025, Sister Mary Vénard LeBeau quietly slipped from this life into her heavenly home as Sister Marlene Huck prayed quietly at her bedside.
Georgine Alde LeBeau was born on February 22, 1923, in Zurich, Kansas, the second of eight children of Arthur and Anna (Thyfault) LeBeau. Raised in a French-speaking home, she often said she changed both her clothes and her language each day after returning from school.
In 1939, while Georgine was a student at St. Elizabeth Academy, Mother Wilhelmine visited and shared news of the newly established mission in Finland. Georgine immediately felt that this was her calling. In her autobiography, she wrote: “My religious vocation to the Precious Blood Community is so closely linked to my vocation to Finland that they became one.”
Georgine entered our novitiate on July 25, 1942, and professed her first vows on August 10, 1944. She received the name Sister Mary Vénard, honoring her French heritage. She earned a bachelor’s degree in French from St. Louis University and a master’s degree in education from the University of Helsinki.
Sister Mary Vénard taught for five years at St. George School in St. Louis—a time that felt nearly eternal to her—before her longing for Finland was finally fulfilled. On June 22, 1949 (a day she celebrated annually), she was missioned to Finland by Mother Borgia. On August 25, 1949, at the age of twenty-six, she departed for Finland. She did not return to the United States for good until February 20, 2023, two days before her 100th birthday.
For decades in Finland, Sister Mary Vénard taught preschool and elementary students at the English Schools in Helsinki and Tampere. She also served as principal in Helsinki. Twice she returned to the United States for further studies at St. Louis University and also taught at St. Stephen Protomartyr and St. John the Baptist schools in St. Louis.
After more than forty years of teaching in Finland, Sister Mary Vénard retired. To avoid the fanfare of her 70th birthday, she accepted an invitation from Kersti Nigesen, director of Vanalinna Hariduskolleegium in Tallinn, Estonia. This marked the beginning of more than twenty years of service in Estonia, where she documented and shared her methods for holistic English language instruction at the school in Tallinn and at Katolu Kool in Tartu.
Only recently freed from Soviet control, Estonia faced both spiritual and financial hardship. Sister Mary Vénard brought with her deep faith and a fearless ability to ask for help. Through a global network of friends, she obtained funding for the schools in Tallinn and Tartu as well as for organizations supporting the disabled, blind, sick, and elderly. She would say, “I beg for help. Be careful—my hand is always open.” Her outreach continued even after returning to Finland in 2015, when she began working with African refugees.
Petite in stature but great in deed, Sister Mary Vénard was recognized for her dedication by the Rotary Club of Denver, the Ebenezer Foundation of Finland, and the President of Estonia with the Pro Terra Mariana Medal. She was also honored by Pope Benedict XVI with the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice award, the Church’s highest honor for laypeople.
Sister Mary Vénard was preceded in death by her parents and by her sisters Ella Marie, Victoria (Joe) Bordes, and Elaine (Joe) Otzenberger; her brothers Ambrose (Lily) and Lionel (Lucette); and her sister-in-law Judy. She is survived by her brother Paul and sister Diane.
We will welcome Sister Mary Vénard’s body to St. Joseph’s Chapel at 9:00 a.m. on April 4, 2025. The Sharing of Memories will begin at 10:00 a.m., followed by the Mass of Christian Burial at 11:00 a.m. She will be laid to rest in our community cemetery.
Her legacy of 102 years cannot be fully captured in words, but we are confident that her spirit lives on in the thousands of children and adults she taught. We trust that she continues her intercession on their behalf from her heavenly home. May she now enjoy eternal rest from her tireless service.
March 17, 2025
Sincerely,
Sister Janice Bader