Benedictine Sister Linda (Valeria) Kulzer, 92, died May 21 at St. Scholastica Convent, St. Cloud. The Eucharist of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, May 28, at Sacred Heart Chapel, St. Benedict’s Monastery, St. Joseph, with burial of cremated remains in the monastery cemetery. Friends may call for a vigil prayer service at 7 p.m. Friday, May 27, at St. Benedict’s Monastery. Visitation continues at 9 a.m. until the time of the funeral on Saturday, May 28.
Valeria Kulzer was born Aug. 19, 1929, in Greenwald, the second oldest child of William and Lillian (Wiener) Kulzer. She attended District #161 grade school near Greenwald and St. Benedict’s High School in St. Joseph. She entered St. Benedict’s Monastery Aug. 28, 1943, was received into the novitiate June 17, 1947, taking the name of Sister Linda, made first monastic profession July 11, 1948, and perpetual monastic profession July 11, 1951. She celebrated her golden jubilee in 1998 and her 60th jubilee in 2008.
Sister Linda received a diploma from the Diocesan Teachers’ College in St. Paul. At the College of St. Benedict, she received a bachelor’s degree in English with minors in history and philosophy, and at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., she earned a master’s degree in educational psychology with a minor in elementary education. She earned a doctoral degree in education from the University of Syracuse in Syracuse, New York, and received certificates for workshops in “Moral Development and Spirituality” and “Theology and Canon Law in Religious Life” from the College of Mount St. Joseph in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Education and administration were the focus of Sister Linda’s ministry. Early on, she taught
at St. Anthony’s School, St. Cloud, and at CSB and then was principal and dean of students at St. Benedict’s High School. She returned to teaching in the education department at CSB where she served as chairperson while also working on her Ph.D.
Sister Linda was the first personnel director for the Sisters of St. Benedict, acting vice president for one year and then vice president for academic affairs at CSB for seven years. She continued as associate professor of education at CSB and served in Studium as literary arts coordinator. She retired from CSB in 1997 but continued in Studium. Sister Linda also gave retreats and was involved in spiritual direction. In 2010, she moved to St. Scholastica Convent where she served as spiritual director and assisted the community there.
Sister Linda is survived by the sisters in her Benedictine community, her brother, Virgil (Jen), and her sisters, Dorine (+Urban) Fuchs and Janice (+Damien) Barthle, and her sister-in-law, Lois Kulzer. She was preceded in death by her parents, her brothers, Wilfred and Donald (+Caroline), and by her sister, Benedictine Sister Marilyn Kulzer.
Please direct memorial gifts to the Sisters of the Order of St. Benedict Outreach Ministries.