DAVENPORT — Sister Helen Strohman (Mary Maurice), CHM, 90, died April 7 at the Humility of Mary Center.
Helen Anne Strohman was born Dec. 13, 1932 in Keswick to Leo and Mary Agnes (Dunn) Strohman. She entered the Congregation of the Humility of Mary in 1952 and professed final vows in 1957.
She studied education at Ottumwa Heights College-Ottumwa and then at Marycrest College-Davenport, where she earned a BA in elementary education.
Sister Strohman’s education career began in 1954 at St. Anthony School-Des Moines before she professed final vows. She traveled frequently, serving as a teacher, minister and educational program director at more than 20 locations in Iowa, Minnesota, Mississippi and Illinois. Her teaching missions in Iowa included St. Anthony, Christ the King-West Des Moines, and Holy Trinity-Des Moines; St. Alphonsus-Davenport; St. Mary-Marshalltown; St. Donatus-St. Donatus; Assumption-Granger; and St. Mary and St. Patrick-Ottumwa. She also taught at St. Austin-Minneapolis. In Mississippi, her teaching positions included Sacred Heart-Camden and the Rainbow Literacy Center-Canton.
Outside the role of traditional teacher, Sister Strohman served as the director of the CHM Seeds of Hope Program-Des Moines and the YES Program, the Rainbow Literacy Center and the MadCAAP Educational Program, all in Canton. Those programs were dedicated to bringing educational opportunities to those who otherwise would lack them. In particular, her work at MadCAAP focused on providing education for county jail inmates, helping them to earn their GEDs. She also served as a pastoral minister and caregiver in North English, Iowa and Peoria, Illinois. Finally, in 2003, she became the director of the Sacred Heart Hispanic Outreach-Canton. In 2022, she returned to Humility of Mary Center after beginning hospice care in Mississippi.
A Mass of Christian Burial was held April 12 at the Humility of Mary Magnificat Chapel. Burial followed at Mt. Calvary Cemetery-Davenport.
Memorials may be made to the Congregation of the Humility of Mary.
