Sister Susan Dunnwald , RSM

Sister Susan Dunnwald, RSM

Cedar Rapids

Sister Susan Dunnwald, RSM, 88, died on Nov. 3, 2022, at Sacred Heart Convent under the care of Hospice of Mercy. Funeral Mass will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 8, at the Mount Mercy University Chapel of Mercy, by the Rev. Jim Brokman and the Rev. Msgr. Russell Bleich. Burial will be at Mount Calvary Cemetery in Cedar Rapids. Friends may call from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 7, at the Chapel of Mercy, with a wake service at 6:30 p.m. Arrangements are with Teahen Funeral Home.

Sister Susan was born on May 20, 1934, in Waterloo, Iowa, the eighth child of Lawrence J. Dunnwald and Susan Irene (Maguire) Dunnwald. Sister Susan attended Sacred Heart School in Waterloo and Immaculate Conception in Gilbertville for her elementary education. She completed junior high and high school at Sacred Heart at Waterloo and graduated in 1952. Sister Susan continued her education at Mount Mercy College after entering the novitiate of the Sisters of Mercy of Cedar Rapids. She earned a B.A. in education from Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids and a M.A. in elementary administration from Loras College, in Dubuque. She later completed post graduate work in pastoral services from St. Mary’s University in Winona, Minn.

Sister Susan, formerly Sister Mary Laureen, began her ministries as a teacher from 1955-67 in Ames; Immaculate Conception of Cedar Rapids; Kalispell, Mont.; and St. Matthews in Cedar Rapids. From 1967-79, Sister Susan served as principal of St. Matthews in Cedar Rapids and at Our Lady of Grace in Edina, Minn. While principal from 1971-1975, she also served as the vice president of the Sisters of Mercy in Cedar Rapids. Sister Susan served as president of her Mercy Community from 1979-87.

Sister Susan became a Pastoral Associate of St. Peter’s Church in Sabula and St. Joseph’s of Preston. While serving in that capacity in July of 1994, she became the first appointed Parish Administration in the Dubuque Archdiocese. From 2000-2012 Sister Susan was parish administrator at St. Patrick, Anamosa. Sister Susan retired to Sacred Heart Convent in 2012.

In 2004, upon the recommendation of Archbishop, Most Rev. Jerome Hanus, O.S.B. of Dubuque, Pope John Paul II recognized Sister Susan along with five other religious, for their significant contributions to the mission of the Church and to the betterment of society with the Cross, Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice.

Sister Susan served on three Mercy Hospital Boards, the Mount Mercy College Board, the Archdiocesan Council, the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, Archdiocesan Worship Commission, the Executive Council of the Federation of the Sisters of Mercy, Catherine McAuley Center and two Ecumenical Ministerial Associations.

Sister Susan was a vowed member of the Sisters of Mercy for 70 years.

In addition to the Sisters of Mercy, Sr. Susan is survived by her sisters, Jane Towe and Pat Delegarde; her sister-in-law, Marcie Dunnwald; and numerous nieces and nephews and their families.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Lawrence and Irene Dunnwald; her brothers, Clifford, William, Joseph and James; and her sister, Maureen.

Memorials may be sent to the Sisters of Mercy at 1125 Prairie Dr. NE, Cedar Rapids, IA 52402.

Online condolences can be left at www.teahenfuneralhome.com.