Sister Mary Heinen (Mary de Lourdes), a former educator in the Davenport Diocese, died Aug. 26 at Bishop Drumm Retirement Center in Johnston. She was 97.
She was born in Valley Falls, Kan., and entered the Congregation of the Humility of Mary on Sept. 8, 1939, professing vows on July 17, 1942.
She received a Bachelor of Arts from Marycrest College in Davenport and an MSE from Drake University in Des Moines. As teacher or principal, she served in Parnell, as well as Catholic schools in Fort Madison, Des Moines, West Des Moines, Urbandale, Centerville, Davenport and in Minnesota and California. In 1990 Sr. Heinen moved back to Valley Falls to care for family members and retired in 2003 to Bishop Drumm Retirement Center.
A service is scheduled for Sept. 1 at 7 p.m. at Bishop Drumm’s Our Lady of Peace Chapel with a memorial Mass Sept. 2 at 9:30 a.m. Also on Sept. 1 at Humility of Mary Center, Magnificat Chapel in Davenport, the rosary will be recited at 4:45 p.m. and a vigil at 7 p.m.
Sr. Heinen donated her body to Des Moines University of Osteopathic Medical Center. Interment in Valley Falls will take place at a later date.
