“Be simple and pure in intention, and you will seize hearts for God.”
-Mother Xavier Ross
Sister Joan “Sue” Miller, 85, a Sister of Charity of Leavenworth (SCL) for 67 years, died on February 3, 2024. She entered religious life on August 19, 1956, taking the name Mary Claudelle. She later returned to her baptismal name.
Born in Kansas City, Kansas, she was the second of four children of Clyde L. and Helen J. (née Wetherwax) Miller.
Sister Sue began her education at St. Therese Little Flower School in Kansas City, Missouri, followed by St. Teresa’s Academy and Bishop Hogan High School. There, she met the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth and, through their help, received a scholarship to attend Saint Mary College in Leavenworth. She said of her first year, “By October, I fell in love with the community, the campus, and the Lord.” She entered the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth after her freshman year.
In her first years with the Community, Sister Sue taught fourth through sixth grades in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Laramie, Wyoming, and Helena, Montana, working on her teaching degree during the summers at Saint Mary College. In 1964, she attended the University of Wisconsin to earn a Master of Science degree, followed by a Ph.D. in home economics with a focus on design and textiles.
In 1968, she returned to Saint Mary College as a professor in the Home Economics Department. She became the academic dean in 1974. Sister Sue recalled that she loved living with the College Sisters, especially her close friends, and the students. “It was a time of change in curriculum and student life that kept us all young and hopping,” she said of her time as a professor and dean. During her time in leadership at the college, she established several outreach programs in the Leavenworth prisons and in Wyandotte and Johnson counties for non-traditional students.
Sister Sue spent 24 years in SCL leadership, first being elected a Community Councilor in 1986 and 1992. She was elected Community Director for two terms in 1998 and 2004. Her time in Community leadership was also marked by tremendous growth in SCL ministries, especially in international sites. Programs were established in Haiti, Sudan, and Kenya and expanded in Peru, with Latin American Sisters stepping into leadership roles there. She led the expansion of the SCL Community’s Charity Fund, which enabled a greater number of projects for the poor to be funded in the U.S. and around the world.
Throughout these years and ministries, Sister Sue continued her art that began with her studies of textiles and design. She produced works in watercolor painting, ceramics, and quilt making. She loved beauty and was prolific in its creation. She had an incredible zest for life and enjoyed travel to new places, fishing, gardening, and cooking.
In her later years, she experienced progressive dementia. She faced it with grace, saying, “I can see that God is inviting me to a total trust, a deeper intimacy, and a more vibrant awareness of God’s presence in me at all times.” About her life’s work, she said, “It is not about accomplishments but about mercy, detachment, compassion, forgiveness, charity—following God.”
Sister Sue was preceded in death by her parents. She is survived by her brothers Lee (Ruth), David (Linda), and Nick (Sylvia), nieces, nephews, great-nieces and nephews, and the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Community.
There will be a vigil service at 7 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 18, 2024, in Ross Chapel, SCL Mother House, Leavenworth. Mass of Resurrection will be celebrated in Ross Chapel at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 19, 2024. Interment will follow in Mount Olivet Cemetery, Mother House grounds. Due to space issues, guests are requested to reserve a seat by calling the Mother House by Feb. 15 (913-682-7500). Masks are required for all outside guests. Memorial contributions can be made to the Sister Sue Miller Scholarship Fund at the University of Saint Mary or the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, 4200 S. 4th St., Leavenworth, KS 66048.
Click this link to view a short memorial video created in honor of the life of Sister Sue: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8VVLWYWKZ0&t=2s
