Sister Loretta Beyer

A Mass of Christian Burial will take place at St. Francis Convent on October 8 at 11 a.m. Friends may call at St. Francis Convent on October 7 from 4–8 p.m., with a Franciscan prayer service at 7 p.m., and from 8:30 a.m. until the time of the funeral on October 8 at 11 a.m. Arrangements are by Shelley Funeral Chapel, Little Falls. Loretta Pauline was born on November 27, 1936, in Brushvale, Minn. She was the second of 12 children born to the late Alphonse and Mary Gertrude (Miranowski) Beyer. She attended grade school in Campbell, Minn., and attended St. Francis High School in Little Falls, Minn. Her aunt, Sister Mary David Miranowski, was a member of the Franciscan Sisters. Loretta entered the Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls on July 31, 1954, was accepted as a Franciscan Sister on July 31, 1955, and given the name, Sister M. Loyola. She was a Franciscan Sister for 64 years. Sister Loretta ministered in St. Cloud, Little Falls and Onamia, Minn. In 1972 Sister Loretta, along with Sisters Louise McKigney and Beverly Weidner, heard the Franciscan call to step out of the “safe zone” and work among the poor as they challenged racism in Holmes County, Miss. They joined a black-led community organizing effort to protest discrimination in hiring and police brutality. In 1982, she and Sister Louise McKigney spent 30 days in jail and received a taste of “justice” usually reserved for black prisoners. The three sisters received the Rural Organizing Worker Reward in 1988 and the Unsung Heroes, Mississippi, Award in 1989. In 2003 they received the Franciscan Federation Reconciler Award at the Federation Conference in Detroit, Mich. Another of Sister Loretta’s contributions was converting weedy vacant lots into gardens. With the help of children and other community members, they supplied vegetables to needy families. Sister Loretta was preceded in death by her parents, sister Joan, and brother-in-law, Gary Mittendorf. Survivors include siblings: Mary (Neil) VanWechel and Dorothy Mittendorf, Phoenix, Ariz.; Dennis (Beth), Breckenridge; Gladys (Allen) Amundsen and David (Janet), Wahpeton, N. Dak.; Kenneth (Barbara), Shoreview; Evelyn (Anthony) Stangler, Albany; Eugene (Phyllis), Audubon; Florence (Alois) Lucken, St. Cloud; Therese (Gerald) Watkins, Livingston, Mont., many nieces and nephews and her Franciscan Community. Donations to Franciscan Sisters Ministries preferred.

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Sister Loretta Beyer

November 27, 1936 - September 30, 2019