Sister Ann Catherine Merkle

A Mass of Christian Burial for Precious Blood Sister Ann Catherine Merkle was celebrated Jan. 25 at the Salem Heights Chapel.

Sister Ann, 94, died Jan. 23 at the Maria-Joseph Center in Dayton. She had been a Sister of the Precious Blood for 72 years.

A native of Dayton, Sister Ann entered the congregation on Aug. 12, 1945. She served 30 years as an educator in grade schools in St. Joseph, Mo.; Rensselaer, Ind.; Falls Church, Va.; Manteca, Calif.; Mesa and Phoenix, Ariz.; Dayton, St. Marys, and Millville, Ohio.

Later she became a religious educator serving in parishes in St. Henry, Toledo, St. Marys and Ottawa, Ohio.

From 1990 to 2001, Sister Ann served others as a pastoral minister in Dayton, including part-time ministry to her Precious Blood Sisters at Salem Heights. In 2001, Sister Ann retired and did volunteer ministry at Twin Towers and later at Salem Heights in Dayton.

Sister Ann is survived by her sister, Rosemary Dillon.

Sister Marjorie Huelsman

A Memorial Mass for Precious Blood Sister Marjorie Huelsman was celebrated Feb. 2 at Salem Heights Chapel.

Sister Marjorie, 76, died Jan. 30 at the Maria Joseph Center in Dayton.

She had been a Sister of the Precious Blood for 56 years.

A native of Celina, Sister Marjorie entered the congregation on Jan. 1, 1961.

Sister Marjorie served in a wide variety of ministries over her years in the community, including in the classroom teaching art to grade schoolers, working as a nurses’ aide, caring for her aging parents, and in a variety of domestic duties.

Father Richard Loehrlein

A Mass of Christian Burial for Marianist Father Richard Loehrlein was celebrated Jan. 29 in San Antonio.

Father Loehrlein, 87, died Jan. 21. He was a member of the Society of Mary for 68 years.

A native of Fulda, Ind., he entered the Marianist postulate at Mount St. John in Dayton in 1946, and professed first vows in 1949. He earned a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Dayton in 1952.

After teaching high school for several years, he entered the Marianist seminary in Fribourg, Switzerland, in 1958.

He was ordained in 1961. Father Loehrlein was a teacher, pastor and missionary. He taught at a number of Marianist high schools, including Chaminade (now Chaminade Julienne Catholic High School) in Dayton, and Purcell (now Purcell Marian High School) in Cincinnati.

Brother Donald Schaaf

A Mass of Christian Burial for Marianist Brother Donald Schaaf was celebrated Jan. 8 at Queen of Apostles Chapel at Mount St. John in Dayton.

Brother Donald, 81, died Jan. 3.

A native of Dayton, Brother Donald taught at a number of Ohio high schools including St. Joseph High School, Hamilton Catholic High and Purcell High (now Purcell Marian). He professed perpetual vows on Aug. 15, 1961, in Dayton. He went on to earn a master’s degree in business administration from Xavier University.

In the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Brother Donald also served as business manager at Bergamo Retreat Center and for a number of Marianist communities in the Dayton area. In addition, he ministered to young people in the juvenile justice system in Memphis.

Interment was at Queen of Heaven Cemetery, also at Mount St. John.

Sister Louise Akers

A Mass of Christian Burial for Sister of Charity of Cincinnati Louie Akers was celebrated Feb. 17 in the motherhouse chapel.

Sister Louise, 75, died Feb. 7 at Mother Margaret Hall.

She was a Sister of Charity of Cincinnati for 57 years.

A native of Charleston, W.Va., Sister Louise’s ministries brought her to the classroom and beyond. In the archdiocese she taught at Seton High School, Cincinnati; St. Joseph Commercial, Dayton; and Archbishop Alter, Kettering. In 1979, she was hired by Archbishop Joseph Bernardin as parish liaison in the Social Action Office of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, working to promote the newly released peace and economic pastoral letters and helping in the formation of parish social action commissions.

In 1985, she founded and served as the coordinator of the Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center (IJPC) in Cincinnati. Sister Louise also served as associate director for social concerns for the Leadership Conference of Women Religious. In 2004, she became coordinator of the Sisters of Charity Office of Peace, Justice and Integrity of Creation.

Interment was in the Sisters of Charity Cemetery.