Sister Lenora Maier Sssf

1930 - 2017

Sister Lenora Maier SSSF 1930—2017
Lenora Theresa Maier was born November 29, 1930, in Cross Plains, Wisconsin, the ninth and last child of Wolfgang and Margaret Maier. She died as a School Sister of St. Francis on October 1, 2017, at Sacred Heart Center in Milwaukee. During her lifetime, Sister Lenora served as an educator, an administrator, and a therapist. She graduated from Alverno College in Milwaukee and went on for further study, receiving her master's degree in English from Loyola, her master's degree in administration from the University of Notre Dame, and her Ph.D. in counseling psychology from the University of Maryland. As a high school teacher, she taught English and French at St. Benedict High School, Chicago; Madonna High School, Aurora; and Boylan Central Catholic High School, Rockford. She served in provincial leadership in the Rockford Province of School Sisters of St. Francis from 1968 to 1977, seven of those years as Provincial Coordinator. Sister Lenora was passionate about women's empowerment and worked actively as a teacher, then with the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, and later with Womanspace in Rockford, as an advocate for improving the status of women. In 1978, Sister Lenora began studies in counseling psychology. After receiving her Ph.D., she worked as a psychotherapist at Towson State University in Maryland, and later served for 18 years as a counselor in private practice at Womanspace. In 2013, Sister Lenora moved to Milwaukee where prayer and presence became her full-time ministry until her death at age 86. Sister Lenora was predeceased by her parents and eight siblings: brothers, Herman, Ben, Joe and Al, and sisters, Sue, Bertha, Fran and Mary. She is survived by many nieces and nephews; by her closest friend, Sister Dorothy Bock; by her Chiara Area Community and the larger School Sisters of St. Francis community; by professional friends (especially Greg Reising, her counseling partner of many years); by her many close friends in Maryland and at Womanspace; and by hundreds of grateful students and clients who were helped by her. Sister Lenora was, above all, a profoundly sensitive listener who was loved by many.
Services for Sister Lenora will be held Wednesday, October 11, in Milwaukee at St. Joseph Chapel, 1501 S. Layton Blvd. Visitation 9:30 a.m.; wake and prayer service 10 a.m., funeral Mass 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to School Sisters of St. Francis Ministries, 1515 S. Layton Blvd., Milwaukee WI 53215; or to Womanspace, 3333 Maria Linden Drive, Rockford, IL 61114, where a memorial will be established in her name.