A funeral Mass for Sister Ruth Margaret Raupp was celebrated Feb. 1 at the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet motherhouse in south St. Louis.
Sister Ruth Margaret died Jan. 29 at Nazareth Living Center in St. Louis. She was 96 and a member of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet for 70 years.
Born in Decatur, Ill., she entered the Sisters of St. Joseph in 1946 and made her final profession in 1952. She earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Fontbonne College in 1943 and a master’s degree in philosophy and secondary education from St. Louis University in 1955.
She began her ministry as a teacher in 1949 at All Saints School in University City, and then in 1951 went to St. Anthony of Padua in south St. Louis. In 1953, she began work on her master’s degree, and then went on to teach at several other schools, including St. Patrick in St. Joseph, Mo. (1954), St. Roch in St. Louis (1954-55), Redemptorist High School in Kansas City, Mo. (1955-56), and Academy of Our Lady in Peoria, Ill., where she was assistant principal and teacher (1956-64).
In 1964, she went to Fontbonne College to work as registrar, and later director of admissions and academic dean. In 1971, she was named regional superior of the St. Joseph Provincialate, and in 1977, she was named assistant province superior.
After a sabbatical, she returned to ministry at St. Joseph Provincial House, this time as an assistant administrator (1987-88), spiritual director (1987-91), and co-administrator (1988-91). She also was a vice provincial superior at the Carondelet Convent in Honolulu, Hawaii (1991-97).
In 1997, she returned to the provincial house in St. Louis as a hospitality coordinator. From 2002-08, she was a volunteer with the Carondelet Family Literacy Program. She also served as a hospitality liaison at the provincial house from 2002-11. In 2011, she moved to Nazareth Living Center.
Survivors include two brothers, Dick Raupp of Innsbrook, Mo., and Jim Raupp of Decatur, Ill.; and two sisters, Ruth Erker of St. Louis, and Nancy Blanton of Sikeston, Mo. Burial was in Resurrection Cemetery.