DAVENPORT — Sister Dolores Rose Schuh, CHM, 93, died July 27 at The Kahl Home.
Dolores Rose Schuh was born Sept. 23, 1932, in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and was raised by Urban and Rose (Kraft) Schuh in Lewistown, Montana. She entered the Congregation of the Humility of Mary in 1954 and made her first profession in 1957, taking the name Sister Mary Joan of Arc.
She studied social science at the College of Great Falls in Great Falls, Montana; Ottumwa Heights College in Ottumwa; the University of Iowa; and Marycrest College in Davenport where she earned a bachelor’s degree with minors in English and education. Beginning in 1964, she pursued graduate studies in sociology at the University of Iowa and completed summer courses in the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. She also attended workshops and seminars on topics ranging from economics to community theater.
Before entering the Congregation of the Humility of Mary (CHM) community, Sister Schuh served as a caseworker for the Montana State Department of Welfare.
Her first teaching assignment was at the airbase that temporarily housed Ottumwa Heights Academy in Ottumwa in 1958. She taught social science there and at Walsh High School until 1963, when she joined the faculty of Ottumwa Heights College. In 1967, she became director of admissions. From 1969 to 1971, she served at the Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research (IECR) at Saint John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota, then returned to Ottumwa Heights to work in institutional research and admissions. In 1974, she returned to the IECR, serving as secretary and administrator until 1986 and as executive associate until her retirement in 2004.
In retirement, Sister Schuh volunteered at Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat in Wheatland, served as an editorial assistant for Abbey Banner, worked as a copy editor for Liturgical Press, and volunteered in prison ministry.
Sister Schuh was an avid writer, publishing columns in secular and religious newspapers and contributing more than 170 reflections for Liturgical Press’s Sunday Bulletins, reaching more than 120,000 readers across the United States and Canada. She was also a devoted Minnesota Twins fan long before their first World Series championship in 1987. After cancer surgery, the chair of the IECR board arranged for the team to sign a baseball for her, a treasured keepsake she proudly displayed.
In 1998, Sister Schuh received the Outstanding Administrator Award from Saint John’s University. In 2004, the IECR honored her with a celebratory dinner and tribute recognizing her hard work, pastoral care, and “world-class chocolate chip cookies.” Board director and former Bishop James Shannon described her as “a gifted practitioner in the art of building community.” She was also a member of the American Sociological Association, the Iowa Sociological Society, and other professional organizations.
Her funeral was held July 30 at the Humility of Mary Center in Davenport. Interment followed at Mt. Calvary Cemetery, Davenport. Memorials can be made to the Congregation of the Humility of Mary.
