Age 73
Sister Marie Elizabeth (Liz) Koehler was a Sister of Mercy for 55 years. Sister Liz entered the Sisters of Mercy Novitiate in St. Louis. Continuing her education, Sister Liz received her Bachelor of Arts in social studies in 1973 from Maryville College in St. Louis, with an elementary education certificate. While continuing in her ministry, she received her Master of Science in counseling at the University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, Mississippi, in 1986 and a certificate in spiritual direction from the Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1997.
Sister Liz’s call to self-sacrifice and service sustained her through teaching at Christ the King School, Fort Smith, Arkansas; St. Patrick School, Meridian, Mississippi; and St. Joan of Arc School, St. Louis. Missouri; serving as a child care worker at Mercita Hall, St. Louis, Missouri; serving in parish ministry at St. Richard Church, Jackson, Mississippi; ministering as a spiritual director in Little Rock, Arkansas; and bereavement coordinator at Mercy Medical facilities in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and Springfield, Missouri.
In addition to her love of her family, Sister Liz enjoyed scrapbooking, sewing, cake decorating, photography, reading and traveling.