Summer 2007, Volume 50, Number 2
by Janet Stelken, PBVM

Down to earth, solid as they come, faith-filled with a kind heart and a good sense of humor is just a start to describing Sister Mary Michael (Henrietta) Rottinghaus. God, family, friends and community were all very important to her. Throughout her 85 years of life, Sister Michael took one day at a time trusting that God would see her through, even to her passing on March 27, 2007.

On September 22, 1921, Sister Michael was born to Joseph and Catherine (Gudenkauf) Rottinghaus in Seneca, KS. She was the third child in a family of ten siblings. When Henrietta Rottinghaus was eight years old her family moved to Dougherty, IA, where she eventually became acquainted with the Sisters of the Presentation of Dubuque. She entered religious life on June 17, 1944, and made her final profession on May 16, 1950.

Graduating from Loras College in Dubuque with an education major, Sister Michael devoted 45 years of loving service and dedication to Catholic education. Her ministry experience extended from South Dakota to Illinois to numerous schools throughout Iowa. Most of that time was spent in the classroom. From 1973-1985, Sister served as principal in Clare, IA.

Simplicity and an unassuming spirit endeared her to many sisters with whom she shared ministry and community over the years. Sister Annette Skyles, who taught with Sister in Algona, IA, comments, “Teaching the young ones was very special to Sister Michael. She especially liked working with those students who found school difficult. She never gave up on them.”

Sister Barbara Rastatter remembers with gratitude how Sister Michael taught her own classroom music. “The joy for this music teacher,” smiles Sister Barbara, “was that because of Sister Michael’s enthusiasm, the kids loved music, and best of all, they always stayed on pitch — a music teacher’s dream.”

Evidence of the impact and positive influence Sister had on her students was an award presented to her in 1980 by Mr. Dwain Pederson, president of the Nebraska Metro District Education Association in Omaha, NE. Dwain, who had Sister Michael as his 4th, 5th, 6th grade teacher at St. Mary’s Grade School in Winner, SD, named Sister as the most influential person in his life and recommended her for the Touch a Life Forever Award.

Prayer always held a very prominent place in the life of Sister Michael. At her wake, Sister Ellen Murphy reminisced about times she rode to Mason City, IA, with the three Rottinghaus Sisters, affectionately called the 3Rs. The rosary, the litany of the saints and a stop at the cemetery to visit the grave of the Rottinghaus parents were always part of the journey. Sister Michael’s faithfulness to prayer continued throughout her lifetime. During her years of retirement Sister routinely called her sisters, Sisters Anthony and Rosanne, to determine the time that they were going to pray their rosary together that day.

On a personal note, I was fortunate to live with Sister Michael from 1986-1992 in Algona and then to reconnect with her again the past several years at Mount Loretto. Often I would greet her with “Michael Row Your Boat Ashore,” words taken from a song made popular in the late 1950s. She would smile that wonderful little smile and have some remark to make as we exchanged a few words. I was fortunate again to be in her presence with some of her family and community as she rowed her little boat for the last time to the shores of eternity. Now resting from her work on Earth and claiming her place in eternity, we can almost hear Sister Michael proclaim, “How lovely is your dwelling place, dwelling of the Lord of hosts.”