A memorial Mass for Sister Mary Geralda Schaefer, RSM, will be celebrated in early February at Catherine's Residence in St. Louis.

Sister Mary Geralda, 98, died Jan. 18 at Catherine's Residence.

Born in St. Helena, Neb., she grew up in Texas and entered the Sisters of Mercy in Webster Groves in 1933. She professed perpetual vows in 1939. She earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Incarnate Word College in San Antonio in 1945, a master's degree in administration from The Catholic University in Washington, D.C., in 1952 and a doctorate degree from the University of Texas in Austin, Texas, in 1967.

Sister Mary Geralda taught at Mercy High School in University City from 1948-50 and 1963-64 and at Mercy Junior College from 1967-69. She retired to St. Joseph Convent of Mercy in 2005 and moved to Catherine's Residence in 2006. She volunteered in the administrative offices of the Sisters of Mercy-Regional Community of St. Louis and Sisters of Mercy-South Central Community from 2006-10.

Sister Mary Geralda also taught at schools in Texas, Arkansas and New Orleans. She was a principal at schools in Texas. She served on the faculty of the mathematics department of the University of Texas–Pan American in Edinburg, Texas, from 1970-88. She served in prison ministry and as a volunteer GED and ESL instructor in Texas. She received numerous teaching awards for her work at the university and received the Alumna of Distinction Award from Incarnate Word University.