Sister Mary Leah Baehl

Sister Mary Leah was born Ruth Ann Baehl on July 27, 1931 in Evansville, IN, the oldest of nine children of Leroy G. Baehl and Cecilia C. (Schaefer) Baehl. She entered the Sisters of St. Benedict of Ferdinand in 1948 from St. Bernard Parish and made her monastic vows in 1950. 

She was preceded in death by her parents; her sister Sister Mary (Anisia) Baehl; her sister Norma Lee (Baehl) Goedde and brother-in-law Melvin Goedde; her brother Vincent A. Baehl and sister- in-law Shirley (Ice) Baehl; her brother Daniel A. Baehl; her brother Stephen Killian Baehl; and her brother-in-law William Tuley. 

She is survived by her brother Robert James Baehl and sister- in-law Martha A. (Wannemuehler) Baehl; her brother Clemens A. Baehl and sister-in-law Mary Beth (Wannemuller) Baehl; her sister Diane V. (Baehl) Tuley; her sister-in-law Deborah (DeTalente) Baehl; her sister-in-law Lynn (Sheridan) Baumgart; her nieces and nephews and her religious family. 

Sister Mary Leah earned a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from St. Benedict College and a Master’s degree in Elementary Education, with a minor in Reading, from Indiana State University. She taught elementary students at St. Joseph School, St. Theresa School and Christ the King School in Evansville, IN; Assumption School in Indianapolis, IN; St. Mary School in Huntingburg, IN; Schnellville Elementary School in Schnellville, IN; Mariah Hill Elementary School in Mariah Hill, IN; and Ireland Elementary School in Ireland, IN. She taught for over a decade at St. Rita School in Morropón, Peru, and served in missions work at Monasterio Paz de la Cruz and La Parroquia de San Isidro, also in Peru. At Monastery Immaculate Conception in Ferdinand, IN, Sister Mary Leah served as an Infirmary Aide, helped distribute altar breads, and most recently served in prayer ministry.