On April 20, 1931, a sixth child was born into the family of Nella and Roy Fleckenstein in Decatur, Illinois. She was baptized Martha Ann. Joining her were four brothers, Leonard, Herbert, Paul and Tony and three sisters, Mary, Amelia, and Agnes Mae, who we now know as Sister Mary Agnes.

Martha Ann was born during the Depression, but her father was fortunate to have a job. Her mother was a very efficient homemaker, having learned this when she did domestic work for a wealthy family. Their great grandparents and grandparents were from Germany.

Prayer was important to the Fleckenstein family. Most evenings the family prayed the rosary and the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The rosary even was prayed in the car when traveling. Involvement at St. James Parish was also very important and meaningful. Mr. Fleckenstein, along with his four daughters, sang in the parish choir. The girls were in feast day processions and the boys were Mass servers. The whole family always attended Sunday afternoon Benediction services and Mother of Perpetual Help devotions.

Martha Ann attended St. James School in Decatur, staffed by the School Sisters of St. Francis. She attended St. Teresa High School, taught by the Ursuline sisters. After graduation, she and Mary Ann Tauber (now deceased, our Sister Anthony Mary) helped the sisters with the church work at St. James. In August 1949, they both entered the convent and were received in the community on June 13, the class of 1950. Martha Ann received the name Sister Marcelita. It was during this time that she requested to be a homemaker.

Her earliest ministries were at Saint Benedict and Saints Cyril and Methodius in Chicago. Her next appointment was at St. Labre in Ashland, Montana, with the Native American people where she was homemaker not only for the sisters but also for the children who stayed with them during the week. This was a great challenge for Sister Marcelita, never having had to serve large groups of people. She accepted this challenge to the best of her ability. Other missions followed in the Rockford Province, Sacred Heart in Lombard and Sacred Heart in Peoria.

While serving at St. Petronille in Glen Ellyn, her cousin, Father Norbert, a Maryknoll missionary, would offer Masses in the parish and then spend time visiting with her on Sundays. This was always a happy Sunday for her.

Later, when Sister Marcelita’s mother needed a care giver, she gladly took on this responsibility until her death at age 98.

Wanting to pursue other interests and further her education, Sister Marcelita attended Rock Valley College in Rockford and George Williams College in Downers Grove. She completed her Bachelor of Arts degree in social studies, graduating with honors.

Sister also ministered in health care institutions: Marion Joy Rehab, with the Franciscan Sisters in Wheaton; Highland Health in Joliet: and with the sisters in La Grange Park in Illinois. She especially enjoyed working in the retirement home for the Franciscan Sisters in Joliet.

In 2005, it was time for Sister Marcelita to retire. She went to our sisters’ retirement home in Campbellsport, Wisconsin. After nine years, when that convent home was closed, Sister came to St. Joseph Convent in Milwaukee and finally to Sacred Heart in 2021.

Sister Marcelita was a woman of many interests and she was gifted with a high intelligence and an outstanding memory. She especially enjoyed researching her family genealogy, even doing rubbings on old cemetery gravestones. She loved music and had a beautiful singing voice. As a child, she was known “to have her nose in a book much of the time” – her mother’s quote – and this continued in her adult life. She became well read and even became an aspiring poet.

Sister Marcelita was a determined person, sometimes too strict with herself. But above all, Sister Marcelita loved prayer. She deeply loved her family and the School Sister community. She lived her religious calling with much faithfulness, and now her Beloved calls her to eternal rest. Sister Marcelita, may you now know God’s love for you and rest in peace. AMEN.