Mary Genevieve was born October 5, 1904 at Pleasant Green, Missouri, the second oldest of eight children born to John and Caroline E. Brummel Stoecklein. The family moved to Pilot Grove when Mary Genevieve and her older brother were ready to start school. St. Joseph’s School was staffed by the Benedictine Sisters from Ft. Smith and the Benedictine Fathers from Conception, and Genevieve had fond memories of classes there, along with sewing lessons and music. However, she was never comfortable with any suggestion that she might be a sister someday. Her first leaning in that direction came when her two cousins, Agnes and Florence Felten (later Sr.M. Elfleda and Sr.M.Imelda) visited at home. Agnes was still a student at St. Joseph’s Academy and Sr. M. Imelda had just received the Benedictine habit at Clyde.

Genevieve worked as a nurse’s aid in St. Mary’s hospital in Jefferson City, and later as a waitress in a Doctor’s dining room in a hospital in Illinois. In December 1927, with a sudden, determined turn about in her lifestyle she decided to follow God’s call to religious life, a choice that brought her protests and ridicule. In spite of this, "nothing changed my resolution" and she wrote to the Sisters at Clyde and went for a visit. She continued to go to parties in Chicago with her cousins and friends, and loved ice skating. 

On February 2, 1928, Feast of the Presentation, she entered the postulancy at Clyde. Genevieve admitted that it was hard to part with all that she held dear, even to give up driving the family car. She left her father in tears when she boarded the Wabash train from Fayette to Clyde. She wrote that the postulants had the "Ora et Labora" maxim to deal with immediately. Postulant Genevieve was assigned to work in the Altar Bread Department, where there were single plate bakers, all managed by hand. They carried full buckets of mixed dough up to the cooler on their way to dinner and back again after dinner.

Perpetual Vows was May 26, 1935. She worked in the Church Vestment Dept, for many years and also had a 3 AM shift for milking cows on the Clyde farm. During five years in Tucson she helped make Knights of Columbus capes. She was dental assistant at Clyde for about 10 years, worked in the Order Dept, at C.D. with booklets, leaflets, medals, etc. and she could re-chain and repair rosaries for the Sisters. She manifested her creativity in making beautiful candles, and for a period of time in raising canaries. 

She moved to St. Benedict Health Care Community in December 1987. With her unique artistic touch of perfection, she crocheted many lovely articles that were given to members of the Health Care Staff or made available for sale until her eyesight began to fail and she could no longer do this creative work. In her last weeks she continued to grow weaker and more frail, but was still conscious and very grateful for all that was being done for her. When the sisters kept vigil with her for a few nights before she died, she was often awake and expressing appreciation for their presence and prayers, sometimes folding her hands in prayer. Sr. M. Flora recalls that when she was praying with her and asking Jesus to come to take her to heaven, Sr. M. Genevieve raised her arms with uplifted hands as though reaching out to welcome His coming. She always seemed to be participating in the prayers of those around her during these last days. Sr. M. Flora was with her the day she died, and when she noticed a slight change in her breathing she pressed the call button. Sr. Michaeline, SSND and others came to the room at once. Death came so peacefully with one last quiet breath that it was almost unnoticed. It was about 1:17 PM on Friday, September 17, nine days after her cousin, Sr. M. Elfleda had died and promised to return to take her home to heaven. 

As quietly and gently as Sr. M. Genevieve had lived in our midst, she died in St. Benedict Health Care Community at St. Louis. Her funeral liturgy was celebrated at our St. Louis monastery chapel on Tuesday, September 21, 1993, and the following day she was laid to rest in Mt. Calvary cemetery at Clyde.