Sister Gladys Ruth Noreen was born on November 7, 1936, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She was the eldest of two daughters born to Ruth and Carl Noreen. Her father emigrated from Sweden as a young man; Swedish customs were a part of the Noreen family life. Her father worked in a paper mill for forty years, changing shifts every week.

Gladys was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church. She was active in many groups during her childhood and youth. In high school she was most active in drama groups. She wrote, “The high school was very large but a few of us maintained a party circuit in our home

Gladys attended a small junior college of the Lutheran Church, where she developed many long-lasting friendships and found an outlet in sports. She did preparatory studies for the diaconate and classes were deeply scriptural. She said, “Much of my love for the Word was implanted in those years.” She transferred to Valparaiso University, where she enjoyed the specialized theology classes interesting but was bored by the requirements for the B.A. degree. Since study came easily to her, she found time for dating, clubs, lectures, and concerts. She lived in Deaconess Hall with other deaconess students. They had morning and evening prayer together and attended the university worship daily. “It was somewhat like convent life except that we were all expected to live and develop as Christians with little nagging or ‘formation.’”

After graduation, Gladys served for six years in North Dakota and Minnesota parishes, teaching and directing youth. In 1964, Gladys wanted to go to the inner city and felt that nursing would be an asset. She studied nursing for three years at Lutheran Deaconess Hospital in Minneapolis. After that, she worked in a ghetto neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. During this time, after much prayer, she decided to adopt a child. A three-year-old Spanish-speaking Black child was placed in her care, but after ten days, due to social work errors, the child was removed from her home.

In November 1971, Gladys met Sister Mary Pascaline Coff at a Christian Women Who Minister encounter at Marillac College in Saint Louis. Sister Pascaline invited her to visit overnight at the convent before returning to New York. Gladys made a private retreat the following April, after which she asked to be accepted into the community. Upon her return to New York, Gladys resigned her many positions and began instruction in the Catholic faith. On July 11, she was confirmed in the chapel of the Visitation Sisters in Brooklyn.

Gladys spent one year at our Tucson Arizona monastery before entering the novitiate. She made her first monastic profession on October 20, 1975, and final vows on October 28, 1978.

During her years in community, Sister Gladys served in the monasteries in Clyde; Saint Louis, Missouri; San Diego, California; and Big Horn and Dayton, Wyoming. In her early years in community, she helped prepare a study program in patristics for the Congregation and was responsible for the Scripture lectionary used for the Liturgy of the Hours. She wrote a book, Commentary and Notes on the Rule of Saint Benedict. As a registered nurse, she served as infirmarian and was administrator of Saint Benedict Health Care Center in Saint Louis. Other assignments included work in maintenance, kitchen, and the altar bread department; she also helped in the correspondence department. She served as vocation director in San Diego and as superior and oblate director in Dayton. She taught Scripture classes in Dayton and to our healthcare sisters.

In May 1996, Sister Gladys earned a master’s degree in religious studies from Washington University in Saint Louis. She had also earned graduate credits in spiritual directions from Shalem Institute in Washington, DC and from Eden Seminary in Saint Louis. In 2002, she received a Doctor of Ministry Degree from the Graduate Theological Foundation in Mishawaka, Indiana. 

In 2003, Sister Gladys was privileged to represent the Alliance for International Monasticism (AIM) for six weeks in Uganda and Kenya She partnered with Sr. Hilary Decker, OSB, of Fort Smith, AR, in a presentation of the spirituality of the psalms. Sister Gladys’ area was the cursing psalms; the African sisters had specifically asked for that topic. After the workshop, she had the opportunity to do some sightseeing and was thrilled to see numerous animals in the wild. 

Sister Gladys loved Africa and was delighted to spend three months at Saint Benedict’s Priory in Tororo, Uganda, from the end of November 2004 until the beginning of March 2005. She directed retreats and re-organized the library. She gave Scripture classes to the novices and postulants in Nairobi. 

Sister Gladys loved to exercise her creativity. In Dayton, she learned how to make paper, which she sold in our gift shop, as well as bath bombs. She was known for her fruitcakes and homemade wine.

With limited mobility, Sister Gladys required assistance. She transferred to Our Lady of Rickenbach in 2021. Loss of hearing made communication difficult.

Death came peacefully in the morning of May 2, 2024. Sister Cathleen Marie and staff members Cassey and Clarissa were with her. Sister Gladys’ funeral liturgy was at the Our Lady of Rickenbach chapel on May 4, 2024, and her burial was in Mount Calvary Cemetery in Clyde.