Sister Evelyn Strei

Sister Evelyn Strei, age 96, died peacefully on June 12, 2025, at Villa St Vincent Nursing Home, Crookston, MN.

Sister Evelyn was born was born March 24, 1929, in Big Stone City, South Dakota, the sixth of twelve children of Joseph and Cecilia (Karels) Strei. She was baptized Louise Jean and called Lou Jean by her family.

Lou Jean attended Saint Joseph’s Grade School in Rosen, MN. She recalled that when she was in eighth grade, her pastor, Father Geisenkoetter, took the girls to visit the Mount in Crookston. She wrote, “I was impressed by the prayerful atmosphere and the community spirit.” She received her high school education at Mount Saint Benedict Academy.

Sister Evelyn recalled reading the vocation pamphlet “Follow me” when she was a high school junior. As a senior, Lou Jean entered the Mount Saint Benedict Monastery on January 3, 1948. She received the Benedictine habit and the name Sister Evelyn on July 4, 1948. She took her first vows on July 5, 1949. She made her final monastic profession on July 11, 1952.

Sister Evelyn received a bachelor’s degree in education from Saint Catherine’s University in Saint Paul and a master’s degree in theology from Mount Angel Seminary in Mount Angel, OR.

Sister Evelyn was known as an excellent primary teacher. She taught at Sacred Heart in East Grand Forks, Saint Joseph’s in Red Lake Falls, Saint Philip’s in Bemidji, Saint Jude’s in Mahtomedi, Saint Francis Xavier in Benson, Saint Joseph’s in Moorhead, Saint Jude’s in Osseo, and Cathedral in Crookston. After 27 years in the classroom, Sister Evelyn became a parish minister in Saint Dominic’s in Northfield, MN, Saint Boniface’s in Hastings, MN and Saint Elizabeth’s in Dilworth, MN. Sister Evelyn also served in spirituality ministries at Manna House of Prayer in Concordia, KS, and Mount Saint Benedict Center. She also served in an ecumenical Benedictine community at Saint Benedict Center in Madison, WI. In addition to these ministries, Sister assisted in the archives at Mount Saint Benedict in her later years.

Most important in her life were the annual retreats which included a thirty-day retreat, private directed retreats and hermit retreats. Sister Evelyn found nature her guide into creation spirituality. She loved reading, walking outdoors, art appreciation and travel.

Reflecting on her years in the monastic community, Sister Evelyn wrote. “I saw my life as a journey going from place to place serving God’s people. Over the years, I have come to realize that the monastic journey is an inner journey of the heart, daily seeing the marvelous works of a faithful God in community and all of creation. “

Sister Evelyn is preceded in death by her parents, Joseph Peter Strei and Cecelia Strei, brothers Thomas, Joseph, Kenneth, and Rev. Jerome Strei, and by sisters Cleora Strei, Phyllis Muller, Rosemary Kelzer, Eunice Schmieg, and Eileen Christopherson. She is survived by brothers Donald and Gerald, by many nieces and nephews and by the Sisters of Saint Benedict of Crookston.

Funeral services will be held Monday, June 30, 2025, at Sacred Heart Chapel, Mount Saint Benedict Monastery, 620 Summit Avenue, Crookston, MN. The prayer service is at 11:00 a.m. The Mass of Christian Burial is at 2:00 p.m.

Arrangements by Stenhoel-Houske Funeral Home, Crookston, MN.