Sister Martina (Agatha) Schindler, 88
St. Joseph
July 17, 1926 – Jan. 17, 2014
Sister Martina (Agatha) Schindler, 88, of St. Joseph, died Jan. 17, 2014 at St. Scholastica Convent, St. Cloud. Her funeral was held Jan. 22 in Sacred Heart Chapel, St. Benedict’s Monastery, St. Joseph. Burial will be in the monastery cemetery.
Schindler was born July 17, 1926, to Henry and Theresa (Reischl) Schindler in St. Wendel, Minn. She attended St. Joseph Parish School and St. Benedict’s High School. Schindler entered St. Benedict’s Monastery on Nov. 1, 1946, made first monastic profession on July 11, 1948, and perpetual monastic profession on July 11, 1951.A graduate of St. Benedict’s Hospital School of Nursing in Ogden, Utah, Schindler was licensed as a registered nurse. She also studied at Weber College in Ogden; College of St. Benedict, St. Joseph; St. Anselm College, Manchester, N.H. and St. John’s University, Collegeville.
Schindler’s healthcare ministry involved a number of clinical areas at St. Benedict’s Hospital in Ogden, where she also served as outpatient admission coordinator. In addition, she was director of nursing at St. Raphael’s Home, St. Cloud, and staff nurse at the St. Cloud Hospital. In 1991, Schindler was called home to St. Benedict’s Monastery where she took on responsibilities in the dining room, the sewing room and in care of plants. In 1995, she began part-time work in the monastery archives. Schindler moved to St. Scholastica Convent in 2007 where she continued to serve through a ministry of prayer and community living.
Survivors include the members of her Benedictine community, three brothers: John, Alphonse and Albert, all of St. Joseph, and two sisters: Sister Dalene Schindler, OSB, of St. Scholastica Convent and Magdalene Schindler, St. Joseph. She was preceded in death by her parents, her sister, Sister Elaine Schindler, OSB, and her brother Joseph.Please direct memorial gifts to the Sisters of the Order of St. Benedict Retirement Fund.