Details

Collection Summary
Collection: FND001 - SHSND Foundation - North Dakota Heritage Family Memorial Program
Series: Tribute
Folder: DIG
Item: 271991
Title: Diane "Sister Thomas" M. Welder
Date: 4/27/1940-6/22/2020
Creator:
Inscription/Marks: 4/27/1940
Summary: Sister Thomas Welder, 80, a member of the Benedictine Sisters of Annunciation Monastery, Bismarck, and president of the University of Mary for 31 years, passed into eternal life June 22, 2020, at the monastery, following a recent diagnosis of kidney cancer. Mass of Christian burial was scheduled for Monday, June 29, at 10:00 a.m. in Our Lady of the Annunciation Chapel (OLA) at the Benedictine Center for Servant Leadership at the University of Mary. Sister Thomas (baptismal name Diane Marie) was born in Linton, N.D., on April 27,1940, to Mary Ann (Kuhn) and Sebastian Welder. She was the oldest of three children. When she was two, the family moved to Bismarck. A graduate of St. Mary’s High School, she joined Annunciation Monastery after a year of college in Minnesota. Attracted by the community and prayer life of the sisters, she felt God’s call to become one of them. As a novice, she was given the name of Sister Thomas. She made her monastic profession on July 11, 1961. Sister Thomas cherished Benedictine monastic life which she lived faithfully for 59 years. She graduated from the College of St. Scholastica, Duluth with a bachelor’s degree in music and earned a master’s degree in music from Northwestern University, Evanston, IL. A dedicated servant leader, she gave her life to the University of Mary for 57 years.  She led from her heart and touched the lives of many. She was president from 1978 to 2009.  Under her remarkable leadership, the school attained university status in 1986; tripled in size from 925 students to 3,000; added the university’s first doctorate, grew on-site and online adult learning programs to 16 locations across the state, region and nation, and moved to NCAA Division II athletics. Sister Thomas was present to students, faculty and staff.  She attended student recitals and concerts, cheered at athletic events and participated in many university gatherings. She called students by name and her genuine caring attitude left a deep impression on them. She enjoyed getting to know friends of the university whose financial assistance made growth possible. After her retirement as president, she was named President Emerita and served in the university’s Mission Advancement Office.  One of the most widely known and highly respected women in North Dakota, Sister Thomas loved visiting with people of all ages and walks of life. People gave her energy. She would focus her entire attention toward listening to the person right in front of her. Her enthusiastic spirit, sense of humor, and gentle nature made others comfortable in her presence. It was a joy to be with Sister Thomas.    Sister Thomas modeled many Benedictine values, such as hospitality, respect, prayer and service, with ease and grace. Benedictine values were dear to her heart.  She committed herself to instilling these values throughout the monastery’s sponsored institutions, the communities of CHI St. Alexius Health and the University of Mary. She served on many state and national boards including CHI St. Alexius Health and MDU Resources Group, Inc. She received numerous honors during her lifetime including North Dakota’s highest honor, the Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award. Music was one of her passions. She directed the Sisters’ Choir for 46 years and gave credit to the choir for the beautiful liturgical music. Sister Thomas was grateful for many blessings in her life. She was particularly thankful to two kidney donors who gave her the gift of life through two kidney transplants. She often prayed for and stayed connected to these special people. A beloved woman of faith, wisdom, and humility, Sister Thomas gave all of herself to so many for so long. She will be deeply missed. She is survived by a sister, Judy (Steve) Jankus, Navarre, Fla.; a sister-in law, Marcia Welder, Apple Valley, Minn.; an aunt, Sister Alene Kuhn, SSND, Mankato, Minn.; 6 nieces and nephews, 11 grand nieces and nephews, one great grandniece, and the Sisters of Annunciation Monastery.   She was preceded in death by her parents and her brother, George.
Red ID: FND_I_79486 Image ID: 547515 Image Notes: FND001 271991

Collection: FND001 Digitized Images from Collection
Title: SHSND Foundation - North Dakota Heritage Family Memorial Program
Date: -

Summary: The North Dakota Heritage Family Memorial Program is sponsored by the North Dakota Funeral Directors Association. The life stories of deceased North Dakotans are featured in an archvied collection. Current partners in the project are Eastgate Funeral & Cremation Services, Bismarck Evans Funeral Homes, Carrington and New Rockford Everson-Coughlin Funeral Home, Williston Fulkerson Funeral Home, Tioga Fulkerson Funeral Home, Watford City Fulkerson Stevenson Funeral Home, Williston Nero Funeral Home, Bottineau Parkway Funeral Service, Bismarck Springan Stevenson Funeral Home, Stanley Stevenson Funeral Home, Dickinson These funeral homes provide recent obituaries to the Foundation, where staff and volunteers format, edit and archive each memorial. The memorials are posted, and copies are sent to the family for their input and approval. The listing currently features more than 13,000 memorials, and is constantly updated as new memorials and histories are received.

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