Sister Maria Eberharde

Sister Maria Eberharde      ND 4283            ⇒ PDF Download
Gisela Tenkleve

Maria Regina Province, Coesfeld / Germany

Date and Place of Birth:   May 17, 1930     Dömern near Vreden, Germany
Date and Place of Profession: April 15, 1952 Ahlen
Date and Place of Death:   April 20, 2015   Coesfeld, Kloster Annenthal
Date and Place of Funeral:  April 23, 2015  Coesfeld, Convent Cemetery

“My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God.“ Psalm 84 

Sister Maria Eberharde grew up with her seven siblings on their parental farm.

After completing basic primary and secondary school in 1944, she helped her parents on the farm. In 1947, she attended the Notre Dame School for home economics in Mülhausen. After that she continued working at her parental home until she entered the congregation in 1949.

After her formation, Sr. M. Eberharde served in different houses of the congregation. During the first years, she ministered in the area of domestic work – according to her formation – but she also helped at Annenheim, a private care center for senior citizens ran by our sisters and affiliated with our student hostel in Münster.

Since Sister Maria Eberharde easily established good relationships with elderly people and professionally qualified in nursing care, she assumed the management of Annenheim in 1969. She held this responsibility until 2001.

The elderly as well as their relatives highly appreciated Sister Maria Eberharde because of her commitment for them. She radiated kindness, benevolence, and friendliness. She easily approached people, was conciliatory in difficult situations, and welcoming towards everyone. This is expressed in letters of thanks.

After the closure of Annenheim, Sr. Maria Eberharde was transferred to Kloster Annenthal, where she assisted in the infirmary as well as she could for some years.

In her love for communication, Sister also sought contact with our neighbors. She loved going into town in her mobility scooter. She considered it her “ministry“ to delight people by a friendly word or by listening to them. She was always impressed with other people’s readiness to assist her, which she gratefully accepted.

Good contacts to her family were very important to Sr. M. Eberharde. She enjoyed sharing the visits of her siblings, her nieces and nephews, and their children. This interest and these relations were very much alive until the last days of her illness.

She could die calmly and peacefully because she knew she was well looked after by her family, the community of the sisters, and all the employees of the infirmary.

The words “The beginning and the end, everything be placed into your hands, Lord“ – which have been so important to her – have now been fulfilled.