“This is my commandment: that you love one another as I have loved you.” – John 15:12
Sister Rita Orleans, 100, a Sister of Charity of Leavenworth (SCL) for nearly 83 years, died Aug. 22, 2026. Born Rita Lucille on Sept. 29, 1925, in Fort Collins, Colorado, she was one of seven children of Louis P. and Laurence (née Michaud) Orleans.
Rita attended Saint Joseph School and Fort Collins High School, graduating in 1943. She entered the SCL novitiate on Sept. 1, 1943, at age 17, during World War II. She received her habit and the religious name Sister Mary Louis on March 5, 1944, and made her first vows on June 20, 1945. She later reassumed her baptismal name. Faith was a significant part of Sister Rita’s family story, and several family members were called to religious life. Her sister, the late Sister Mary Donalda Orleans, joined the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, as did their cousin, the late Sister Mary Coletta Michaud.
She began her health care ministry at Providence Hospital in Kansas City, Kansas, where she trained as a nurse and became a registered nurse in 1948. For more than six decades, Sister Rita devoted her life to nursing and health care, ministering in hospitals in Kansas, New Mexico, Colorado, Montana, and Canada. Her roles included nursing, surgery, operating room management, education, administration, materials management, and technology.
A lifelong learner, Sister Rita continued her education alongside her ministry. She earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing education from Saint Mary College in Leavenworth in 1968 and a master’s degree in nursing from Boston University in 1973. She also studied operating room management and technology at Saint Michael Hospital in Toronto, Canada.
Sister Rita brought intelligence, determination, kindness, and a strong sense of responsibility to her ministry. She was a respected leader whose quiet confidence and thoughtful manner left an impression on those around her. Sister Rita chose her words carefully and spoke with purpose. People trusted her judgment, valued her experience, and respected the steady, capable presence she brought to each role.
That straightforward approach guided her throughout a career that required both leadership and adaptability. She was director of continuing education at Saint Mary’s Hospital in Grand Junction, Colorado, and coordinator of the Western Health Education Center. In 1976, she joined the staff at Saint Vincent Hospital in Billings, Montana, where her responsibilities included materials management and central processing. Her extensive nursing and surgical experience gave her an understanding of the medical products she purchased, while her careful negotiating helped the hospital use its resources wisely.
As health care became increasingly dependent on technology, Sister Rita adapted with it. From 2001 to 2008, while in her late 70s and early 80s, she took on a new ministry as a database administrator at Saint Vincent Hospital. Embracing an entirely different responsibility so late in her career reflected a quality that marked her life: Sister Rita was willing to learn what was needed to serve where she was needed.
Her colleagues recognized not only Sister Rita’s abilities, but also the character behind them. During her 1993 Golden Jubilee celebration at Saint Vincent Hospital in Billings, Montana, presenter Spencer Smith concluded his remarks with a humorous tribute: “You are a model employee. You’re trustworthy, loyal, kind, courteous, obedient, reverent, and you obey the law of the pack. If you hadn’t become a nun, I think you would have made a good Boy Scout.”
In 2008, Sister Rita returned to Leavenworth, where she lived at the Mother House and continued in volunteer ministry. In September 2025, she celebrated her 100th birthday, marking a century of life and more than eight decades as a Sister of Charity of Leavenworth.
Over the course of that century, Sister Rita witnessed extraordinary changes in religious life, nursing, medicine, and technology. Yet the qualities she brought to each new chapter remained constant: faithfulness, intelligence, practicality, determination, and a commitment to service. Whether caring for patients, educating nurses, managing hospital resources, embracing new technology, or living in community, Sister Rita offered her gifts where they were needed. In doing so, she provided an enduring example of what it means to live as a Sister of Charity.
Sister Rita was a great lover of the outdoors, enjoying walking and hiking, especially in the mountains, and finding God in nature. She also loved her family deeply and spent many summers with them vacationing in the mountains of Montana and Colorado. Several younger extended family members joined her for her 100th birthday and various celebrations over the years.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her brothers, Donald and Louis Orleans; and her sisters, Berniece Knutson, Irene Hamblin, and Sister Mary Donalda Orleans, SCL. She is survived by her brother, Richard (Adrianne) Orleans of Prescott Valley, Arizona; nieces and nephews; extended family; and the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth.
A vigil service will be held at 4 p.m. Monday, Aug. 31, in Ross Chapel at the Mother House in Leavenworth. A rosary will be prayed at 9:45 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 1, followed by the Mass of Christian Burial at 10:30 a.m. Interment will follow in Mount Olivet Cemetery on the Mother House grounds. Memorial contributions may be made to the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Retirement Fund, 4200 S. 4th St., Leavenworth, KS 66048.
