School Sister of Notre Dame M. Lucia Aschenbrener, 90, died Dec. 28 at Our Lady of Good Counsel, Mankato, Minnesota. The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. Friday, Jan. 4, in the Good Counsel Chapel. A prayer service of remembrance will be held at 9 a.m. Friday, followed by visitation until the time of the funeral. Burial will be in Good Counsel cemetery.
Sister Lucia (Lenore Jean) was born Nov. 23, 1928, to Casper and Leona (Werner) Aschenbrener in Spokane, Washington. After graduation from Marycliff High School in Spokane, staffed by Franciscans from La Crosse, Wisconsin, she entered the School Sisters of Notre Dame in 1947 and professed first vows July 21, 1950. She earned a bachelor’s degree in education from Holy Names College, Spokane, in 1960.
Her ministry of teaching primary or intermediate grades at Catholic schools extended over three states, including Bellechester, Rogers and Mankato, Minnesota; Clarkston and Chewelah, Washington; and Springbrook, Iowa. In the St. Cloud Diocese, Sister Lucia taught at St. Mary’s Cathedral School in St. Cloud and later was hired by the St. Cloud Public School District as a Title 1 paraprofessional at Holy Spirit School and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School. She also did clerical work and was part of the Foster Grandparent program.
In 1998, Sister Lucia designed a logo for the Diocese of St. Cloud. Within an oval frame, she placed a cross with the words “Hope,” “Mercy” and “Justice” along with a stalk of wheat and swirling shapes that suggested movement, growth and life. A talented artist, she was known for her pencil sketch portraits as well as paintings. In 2003, she created a picture of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton with two children, which now hangs in the school hallway.
She retired in 2010 to Good Counsel Hill. Sister Lucia is survived by nieces and nephews, and her sisters in community, the School Sisters of Notre Dame. She was preceded in death by her parents, her sisters, Ann Hill, Elaine Salvesen, Maree Smith and Sylvia Elkin, and her brothers LeRoy and Casper.