Sr. Mary DeLourdes Kolles

Little Falls, Minnesota............Sister Mary DeLourdes (Margaret) Kolles, 90, died on March 4, 2013, at St. Francis Convent, Little Falls, Minn. A Mass of Christian Burial will take place at St. Francis Convent on Friday, March 8, 2013, at 11 a.m. Friends may call at St. Francis Convent on March 7, from 4 - 8:30 p.m. and from 8:30 a.m. until the time of the funeral on Friday, March 8, at 11 a.m. Arrangements are by Emblom Brenny Funeral Services. Sister Mary DeLourdes was born on October 2, 1922, in Elk River, Minn. She was the second of ten children born to the late Leo and Flora (Schumacher) Kolles. She was accepted as a Franciscan Sister of Little Falls, on August 12, 1940. She made first profession on August 12, 1942, and final vows on August 12, 1945. She was a Franciscan Sister for 72 years. Sister Mary DeLourdes was a person of integrity. She put her talents of organization and professionalism to good use in the more than 55 years she served in various ways in health care. She was an excellent staff nurse always putting the welfare of the person she was dealing with first. She was a very good nursing instructor and so very gentle. She valued the gift of religious community where she continually strove to grow in understanding that each person was a unique and unrepeatable gift from God. When she celebrated her diamond jubilee as a Franciscan Sister she said, "To think that 60 years of my life have been spent in the service of the Gospel is gift!" Sister Mary DeLourdes received a registered nurse diploma from St. Francis School of Nursing, Breckenridge; Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wis.; Masters of Science in Nursing from Washington University, St. Louis, Mo., with a clinical specialty in medical-surgical nursing and also received the Eliot's Honor Society Membership for Leadership and Academic Achievement. She did further study at North Dakota State University, Fargo, N. Dak.; the Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C.; and the Oblate School of Theology, San Antonio, Tex. Sister Mary DeLourdes ministered as a staff nurse, supervisor, instructor, director of staff development and assistant director of St. Francis School of Nursing. She developed the Sister Hostess Program at St. Gabriel's Hospital and worked as a hostess in her later years. She served at Moorhead, Little Falls, Breckenridge and St. Cloud. She was a member of the continuing education committee and the health team for the Franciscan Sisters. She was a governing board member for many hospitals and homes operated by the Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls. Sister Mary DeLourdes was preceded in death by siblings: Vernon, Lorraine Lock, Jerome, Louis, Raymond, Allan, Eileen and an infant brother. Survivors include sibling, Geraldine Barsody, Elk River; four sisters-in-law, Anita Kolles, Bernice Kolles, Elaine Kolles, and Lorraine Kolles; nieces, nephews and her Franciscan Community. Donations to Franciscan Sisters Ministries preferred.