Sister Georgella Sickler

Sister Georgella Sickler, 96, a founder of the Benedictine Sisters of Annunciation Monastery, Bismarck, went home to God on February 6, 2007, at a Bismarck care center. Mass of Christian burial is scheduled for 5 p.m. Friday, February 9 in the Chapel of Annunciation Monastery. There will be a spring burial. Visitation is at the monastery until the time of the funeral. A wake service is set for 7:15 p.m. Thursday at the monastery. Anna, the fifth of seven children of John and Anna Abfalder Sickler, was born on October 21, 1910, in Austria-Hungary. In 1911, the family immigrated to the United States and homesteaded on land north of Gladstone, ND. All three of the Sickler daughters became Benedictine sisters. Anna and her older sister entered St Benedict's Monastery, St. Joseph, MN, in 1931 and made monastic profession on July 11, 1933. A third sister followed them later. In 1944, the Sickler sisters transferred to the new foundation in Bismarck, Annunciation Monastery. Anna, now named Sister Georgella, was an excellent cook and housekeeper and spent the greater part of her life providing a homey atmosphere for her sisters in convents in Bismarck, Flasher, Dickinson, and Mandan. She also worked in hospitals and care centers including St. Cloud Hospital, St. Cloud, MN; St. Alexius Medical Center, Bismarck; Garrison Memorial Hospital, Garrison; Tri-State Hospital, Bowman; and St. Anne's Home and St. Joseph's Home, Dickinson. Wherever she was assigned to serve, Sister Georgella put her whole heart into her work, was conscientious and persevering, yet always found time for special devotions to Mary, the mother of Jesus. A creative woman, she was skilled in sewing, crafts and card-making. Sister Georgella was also an eager learner, liked to read, and enjoyed conversations about religious events. She was a self-taught typist and calligrapher, a regular letter writer and had extensive collections of recipes and articles on gardening and holistic health. A person in whose presence people felt comfortable, Sister Georgella could laugh at herself and was willing to give generously of herself wherever she lived. For 74 years of monastic life, she was faithful to her God who now holds her in loving embrace. She is survived by nieces and nephews and the Sisters of Annunciation Monastery.

Sister Georgella Sickler

October 21, 1910 - February 6, 2007