Age 90
A very accomplished psychologist and a capable teacher and researcher, Sister Margretta was well known for her counseling of sex offenders.
Sister Margretta entered the Sisters of Mercy at the age of 18 in Council Bluffs, Iowa. She earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the College of St. Mary in Omaha, Nebraska, and a master’s degree in psychology from the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, Colorado.
An elementary school teacher for 15 years, she taught at Catholic schools in Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, and New Mexico. Next, she served as a counselor at United Catholic Social Service in Omaha, Nebraska, and Catholic Charities before seeking additional education at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in clinical psychology, which offered her a change in both focus and location.
She continued her studies at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where she ministered as a counseling psychologist and later as a member of the university faculty for 32 years. In that position, Margretta turned her attention to therapy, research, teaching and treatment of sex offenders, bringing long-overdue attention to this underserved field.
Margretta conducted seminars for the Mayo Clinic and presentations extending beyond the United States to include Venezuela, Greece, France, Norway, Austria, and Germany. She also served in a variety of roles within the Sisters of Mercy Province of Omaha. After retiring from full-time ministry, Margretta worked in Minneapolis with the homeless. She returned to Omaha in 2015 to be near her religious community and family.