Louise Gertrude Kuborn was born on February 23, 1934, in Kaukauna, Wisconsin, to Matthias and Agatha Berendsen Kuborn. She was the fourth of five children. She attended Holy Cross grade school, taught by the Racine Dominican Sisters, before graduating from Kaukauna High School in 1952.

Even though Louise Gertrude had an aunt and a cousin who were Racine Dominicans, she was drawn to contemplative religious life. Her Aunt Tessie subscribed to the Benedictine Sisters’ magazine, Tabernacle&Purgatory, in the hope that young Louise would be encouraged to read it, and she did.

Although Louise took a job at a bank right after high school graduation, her heart was already in the monastery. She quit after just one day at the bank, because she didn’t want them spending time or money training her for a job that she did not intend to keep. “I immediately wrote to Clyde for an application and just knew without a doubt that I would be accepted.”

Sr. Louise later said: “I felt called to the Benedictine Sisters because of their focus on prayer and adoration. Prayer was no stranger in our home, and the rosary was prayed together daily. The prayerful example of my parents spoke louder than any words.”

Louise entered on August 6, 1952, and made her first monastic profession on February 11, 1954, taking the name Sister Mary Mark. She made her final monastic profession on April 10, 1959. She received permission to return to her baptismal name, as Sister Louise Gertrude, in 1971.

Sister Louise Gertrude served as a generous, caring member for a long time in our communities in Mundelein, Illinois, Saint Louis, and Clyde. She also lived in our monasteries in Tucson, Arizona, and San Diego, California. Her duties ranged from kitchen to maintenance to altar bread production to healthcare. For the first nine years of her professed monastic life, she worked in the chicken yard.

Not only did this feat assure her and others she wasn’t in this life for the glory, she found that she could offer it up for some good intention. Much later she served for twelve years as a notary public for the community in St. Louis.

Beginning in the late 1970s, Sister Louise Gertrude was a conscientious bookkeeper in Tucson, Saint Louis, and Clyde. She served three different congregational treasurers over the years. When she finally retired from finance work after almost twenty-nine years, Sister Pat Nyquist remarked, “Sister Louise Gertrude will be turning off her calculator and taking up another assignment. She has been a steady presence through the tenures of three successful treasurers. We thank her for her many years of trustworthy and diligent stewardship.”

Sister Louise’s quiet demeanor was often a calming presence to others. Her twinkling eyes and soft smile radiated a peace that came from within. When she transferred from the St. Louis monastery to Clyde in 2001, Sister Mary Jane Romero told her, “May God bless you all for all you have done for the Saint Louis community in your loving, quiet, gentle way.”

Sister Louise Gertrude enjoyed embroidering, crossword puzzles, and puzzles involving logic. Her counted cross stitch pieces and crocheted doilies were prized and admired. She inherited and gave tender care and new additions to a “beautiful and interesting” stamp collection that had been started by sisters in the congregation before her time. An avid card player, when a group at Clyde played a game called 13, only Sister Louise could keep score by adding running numbers in her head.

Sister Louise Gertrude once said she was most grateful for her vocation to the Benedictine Sisters. “I am also grateful for the companionship and example of each Sister as we daily live this monastic life together,” she added.

In late 2015 Sister Louise was diagnosed with advanced lymphoma. She chose to have minimal treatment and moved to our health care center, Our Lady of Rickenbach, where she was also under the care of hospice. 

Sister Louise Gertrude died peacefully in the early morning of August 4, 2016. Just before 5:00 a.m., Sister Cathleen Marie, the OLR administrator, was with her. She had just stepped out of the room when Louise slipped off to God. She never wanted a fuss even to the end.

Her funeral liturgy and burial at Mount Calvary Cemetery took place August 8, 2016.