Sister Mary Hope Uphoff

Sister Mary Hope Uphoff, 81 year old resident of Little Falls, MN, passed away Wednesday, January 2, 2019 at the St. Francis Convent in Little Falls, MN. A Mass of Christian Burial will take place at St. Francis Convent on Monday, January 7th at 11 a.m. Friends may call at St. Francis Convent on Sunday, January 6th, 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 Monday, at 11 a.m. Arrangements are with the Shelley Funeral Chapel in Little Falls, MN. Rose Mary Uphoff was born on February 10, 1937, to Alois and Louise (Laing) Uphoff in New Munich, Minn. She was six weeks premature and, to everyone’s surprise, there were two babies. Rose Mary weighed only two and a half pounds; her twin sister weighed about four pounds. However, Rose Mary’s twin died shortly after birth but little Rose Mary continued to breathe. That first night she slept in a cotton-filled shoebox on the oven door. The next day the family bundled up and went to the church for the baptism. She was the oldest of the five living children and grew up in an extended family. Her father and uncle owned the home farm and lived there together, along with the grandmother and a hired man. The family spoke German until several years after Rose Mary started school when they gradually changed to English. Rose Mary attended Sacred Heart School in New Munich and St. Francis High School in Little Falls. She had an aunt who was a Benedictine and Rose Mary, herself, thought seriously about becoming a Poor Clare. However, probably because of the example of the sisters at the high school, she chose to become a Franciscan Sister. She was accepted as a Franciscan Sister of Little Falls, Minnesota, on July 31, 1955, and was given the name Sister Mary Hope. She was a Franciscan Sister for 63 years. Sister Hope obtained her RN at St. Francis Hospital School of Nursing, Breckenridge, Minn. She served in Sauk Centre, Alexandria, Moorhead, Little Falls and Hastings, Minn., and in Milwaukee, Wis. After many years of hospital nursing, Sister Hope became the director of Nursing at St. Francis Convent Infirmary where she ministered with love to her sisters for eight years. She continued ministry to the elderly at Augustana Nursing Home in Hastings. Sister Hope served on the governing boards of St. Francis Hospital, Breckenridge, Minn.; Trinity Hospital, Baudette, Minn.; and Trinity Hospital, Cudahy, Wis. When Sister Hope celebrated her golden anniversary as a Franciscan Sister, she said that her years were never static, but were years that moved her to new days of aliveness, appreciation and hopefulness. She loved to care for flowers and watch them unfold, which reminded her of life and how each person unfolds and grows toward perfection. Her parents, her twin sister, Mary, and her brother-in-law, Floyd Siegle, preceded Sister Hope in death. Survivors include siblings: Alice Siegle, Long Prairie; Louise (Jerry) Kaiser, Zumbrota; Judy (Dave) Lesar, St. Cloud and Charles (Deb), Melrose; nieces, nephews and her Franciscan Community. Donations to Franciscan Sisters ministries preferred.

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Sister Mary Hope Uphoff

February 10, 1937 - January 2, 2019