Born on June 15, 1939, in Washington, Missouri, Sister Margaret Ellen was the youngest of three children of Gerard and Ellen (Sheerin) Buscher. She was baptized as Margaret Ellen at St. James Church in Catawissa on June 25, 1939. She grew up with her brother, Robert, and sister, Patricia, in Robertsville until the age of 4 when her family relocated to Benton City, Washington. She attended schools in both Washington state and Missouri, including St. Bridget School in Pacific, which was staffed by the School Sisters of Notre Dame.

During her freshman year of high school in Spokane, Washington, Sister Margaret Ellen felt a calling to religious life but gave it little thought. During her junior year at St. Francis Borgia High School in Washington, Missouri, she attended a Day of Recollection at Sancta Maria in Ripa, which affirmed her decision to enter religious life.

On Aug. 29, 1956, Sister Margaret Ellen received the candidate’s bonnet at St. Francis Borgia Church. She entered the novitiate on July 30, 1957, and took the name Marie Gerard in honor of her father. She professed first vows on July 31, 1958, and final vows on July 31, 1964. She later returned to using her baptismal name.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in theology from the former Notre Dame College in St. Louis in 1961. She also earned a master’s degree in library science from Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, Texas, in 1970, and a master’s degree in pastoral studies from Loyola University of Chicago in 1991.

Sister Margaret Ellen taught for five years at Holy Ghost and St. Gabriel in St. Louis; Sacred Heart in Rich Fountain; and St. Francis Borgia in Washington. She also taught for seven years at St. Alphonsus (Rock) High School and Rosary High School in St. Louis and Quincy Notre Dame in Quincy, Illinois. In addition, she worked as an aide in the former Notre Dame College Library in St. Louis and served as a librarian for eight years at Duchesne High School in St. Charles; Notre Dame High School in St. Louis; and the Academy of Notre Dame in Belleville, Illinois.

Sister Margaret Ellen served as a pastoral minister in Sikeston, Missouri, and Belleville. She was director of religious education in Litchfield, Illinois, and parish administrator in Ewing, Missouri. She was a driver and a campus minister in Macomb, Illinois. She served as director of religious education in Springfield, Missouri, and later as the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults director there. During her last years of active ministry, she worked as the director of pastoral services and chaplain for The Kitchen Inc. in Springfield, a ministry which she regarded as her most significant.

In 2014, Sister Margaret Ellen retired in Springfield and moved to Theresa Center in 2017. In October 2022, she was assigned to Anna House at The Sarah Community.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Gerard and Ellen Buscher, her brother, Robert, and her sister, Patricia Walde Kopp. Sister Margaret Ellen is survived by nephews, nieces, cousins, friends, classmates, SSND and associates.

Sister Margaret Ellen was remembered for her love of fishing, traveling and dining out. She possessed a sense of humor and demonstrated generosity and sensitivity toward those who were suffering or in need. Her years of pastoral ministry were particularly rewarding.

Burial was in Sancta Maria in Ripa Cemetery in St. Louis.