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Sr. Miriam Hoffman OSB

Sister Miriam Hoffman, age 92, a member of St. Scholastica Monastery, died July 10, 2024, at Chapel Ridge Health &  Rehab in Fort Smith, Arkansas.  Sister Miriam, born April 11, 1932, in Altus, Arkansas, to Paul and Gertrude (Koerdt) Hoffman, was named Lucille Marie.  She was the fifth child of seven born to the Hoffman family.

Sister Miriam entered St. Scholastica Monastery as a candidate on August 29, 1947. Following her novitiate in 1948, Sister Miriam made her first profession on June 24, 1950, and her final profession on June 24, 1953. 

Sister Miriam was gifted in hospitality, nurturing both body and soul in the culinary fields.  Sister Miriam served in the dietary departments of two hospitals: in Dermott, Arkansas, for four years and in Morrilton, Arkansas, for thirty-eight years.  In 1994, she served as the monastery dietary manager for the second time until her retirement in 2012.  She served in this role for a total of twenty years.

She attended Fontbonne College in Clayton, Missouri, in dietetics and food service.  As long as she was able, Sister Miriam enjoyed cooking, sewing, and creating various arts and crafts.  She was an excellent mathematician. She loved to read the local newspapers where she ministered. She was a hard worker and made tasks seem effortless. She was known for creating beautiful jubilee cakes, tasty grape pies, wonderful cinnamon rolls, and a unique bread made with  Mr. Dunn’s abundant long, skinny green beans. Sister Miriam was a gentle and approachable person with a hearty sense of humor. She truly knew what it meant to live Benedictine hospitality. She was dedicated to her family, faithfully keeping in touch with family and friends through letter-writing and telephone calls.   

The Sisters at St. Scholastica Monastery thank Sister Miriam’s caregivers at St. Scholastica Monastery Infirmary and Chapel Ridge Health & Rehab for their loving care.

She was preceded in death by her parents: her siblings,  Hermina and husband, Dr. David Cheairs; her brother Paul and his wife, Grace Hoffman; her brothers Raymond, William, and Charles; and her youngest sister, Jane Rose, and her husband, Thomas McHale. She is survived by her many beloved nieces and nephews, friends, and members of her Benedictine family. 

A Vespers Service will be held Thursday, July 18, 2024, at 7:30 p.m.  The Mass for Christian Burial will be Friday, July 19, 2024, at 10:30 a.m., with Fr. Joseph Chan, monastery chaplain, presider. Both services will be at St. Scholastica Monastery Chapel, with burial in St. Scholastica Cemetery under the direction of Edwards Funeral Home of Fort Smith.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. Scholastica Monastery Continuing Care Fund, 1315 S. Albert Pike, Fort Smith, AR 72903.

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Sr. Marcella Schmalz OSB

July 5. 1920 – July 29, 2024

Sister Marcella Schmalz, age 104, a member of St. Scholastica Monastery, died July 29, 2024, at Chapel Ridge Health & Rehab in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Sister Marcella was born July 5, 1920, in Carbon City, Arkansas, to Ed and Helen Agnes Blunk Schmalz. She was named Marcella Carolina. During her teen years, she moved to California where two of her sisters lived and worked. While there, she became a beautician, but the call to religious life she had felt since she was eight years old never left. Sister Marcella heeded the call and entered St. Scholastica as a candidate on August 11, 1943. She was given the name Mary Benoit and made her first profession June 24, 1946. She made her final profession on June 24, 1949.

During her years of mission work, her work centered mostly around cooking and the diet kitchen. She lived out her calling as a Benedictine in different areas of Arkansas and Missouri, including Lake Village, Atkins, St. Joseph’s Orphanage, the Bishop’s residence in Little Rock, the hospital in Van Buren in Arkansas and St. Joseph’s Hospital in Boonville, Missouri. In 1971, she moved to Canyon, Texas, where she became a founding member of St. Scholastica’s daughter house, St.

Benedict’s Monastery. Sister Marcella contributed forty-six years to the work of the Benedictines in Texas. In Canyon, she served as vocation and oblate director, subprioress, cook-dietician, organist, and gardener. At St. Anthony’s Hospital in Amarillo, she served in pastoral care. After the closure of St. Benedict’s Monastery in 2017, Sister Marcella returned home to St. Scholastica.

Sister Marcella’s deep monastic spirituality, hospitable spirit, and peaceful presence endeared her to her community members and the people of Canyon.  She was a wonderful cook and bread maker and hardworking gardener.  A fall in the garden caused serious damage to her right wrist and hand.  Despite surgeries and much therapy, she was never able to regain use of her right hand.  She worked hard to learn to use her left hand and continued her usual duties. The only change was that she needed more help.

Her 100th birthday was in the Covid year of 2020, so her party was an internal community event.  On July 5 this year, 23 days before her death, the community and staff at Chapel Ridge had a big party with the Sisters, friends, and residents at Chapel Ridge. She greatly enjoyed celebrating with everyone.

She was preceded in death by her parents and siblings: Alice Schrivner and husband, Dave; Hilda Nehus and husband, Gary; Irene Upchurch and husband, Carl; Roy Schmalz and wife, Mary; Estella Etzkorn and husband, Albert. She is survived by her beloved nieces and nephews and the Benedictine Sisters of St. Scholastica.

 A Vesper Service will be at 7:30 p.m. on September 19 and a Funeral Mass at 10:30 a.m. on September 20 with Father Jerome Kodell, OSB, presiding.  All services will take place at St. Scholastica Monastery.  Interment of her cremains in St. Scholastica’s new columbarium will be at a later date.  In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. Scholastica Monastery’s Continuing Care Fund, 1315 S. Albert Pike Ave., Fort Smith, AR 72903.

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Sr. Magdalen Stanton OSB

See Actual Obituary

Sister Magdalen Stanton, OSB, age 84, a member of St. Scholastica Monastery, died at Chapel Ridge Health & Rehab on February 15, 2022. Lain Swafford Stanton was born on July 23, 1937 in Shreveport, Louisiana, to William Swafford and Jeannette Lain Swafford . She graduated from Germantown High School in Germantown, Tennessee, in 1955. Lain was a wonderful big sister to her brother and sister who were several years younger.


Before entering St. Scholastica Monastery, Lain was married and worked as an interior designer, bookkeeper, and photographer in Memphis. In the 1970’s she attended Memphis State University part time. After her divorce, she moved to Fort Smith to be near her sister, Patty O’Brien. She converted to Catholicism and was baptized at Immaculate Conception Church in Fort Smith in 1993. A few years before entering the monastery, she lived in Subiaco and worked at the Gift Shop in Coury House.


Lain entered St. Scholastica Monastery in 1997 and became a novice in 1998, taking the name Sister Magdalen. She made perpetual profession on June 24, 2003. In the monastic community, Sister Magdalen taught calligraphy classes at the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith and gave calligraphy workshops. She was proud of the work of some of her students who continued practicing calligraphy. Using her calligraphy skills, she completed a beautiful necrology book, listing all the Sisters of St. Scholastica Monastery who had died. From 2001 to 2012, Sister Magdalen was Director of the Oblate Program. After learning to play the autoharp, she enjoyed playing for some of the community liturgies. Because of declining health, Sister Magdalen moved to the Infirmary in 2009 and later moved to Chapel Ridge Health & Rehab.


Sister Magdalen was a gracious Southern lady for whom art and beauty were very important. She was a voracious reader. She loved being surrounded by books and beautiful things.


She was preceded in death by her parents and sister-in-law, Cathie Swafford. She is survived by her brother, Bill Swafford in Boulder, Colorado; her sister, Patty O’Brien (Jim) in Fort Smith; her nephews, John Calhoun and Michael O’Brien; her nieces, Kym Wootton and Mary O’Brien; three great nephews and nieces; and members of her Benedictine community.


A Vespers Service will be on April 8 at 7:30 p.m. The funeral Mass will be on April 9 at 10:30 a.m. with Rev. Cassian Elkins, OSB and Rev. Joseph Chan presiding. Both services will be at St. Scholastica Monastery. Burial will follow in St. Scholastica’s cemetery.

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Sr. Jo Ann Senko OSB

Sister Jo Ann Senko, OSB, age 87, a member of St. Scholastica Monastery, died at Chapel Ridge Health & Rehab on November 02, 2022.  Sister Jo Ann was born on February 21, 1935, in Slovactown, Arkansas, to John Senko, Jr. and Frances Dorothy Garrich Senko.  She graduated from St. Scholastica Academy in Fort Smith, Arkansas, in 1952. Sister Jo Ann was a wonderful big sister to her brothers Frederick, Gary, and Michael and to her sister Shirley who were several years younger than Sister Jo Ann.    


Before entering St. Scholastica Monastery, she worked at the Daily Leader Newspaper in Stuttgart. She was an excellent typist and possessed an engaging and outgoing nature with people. Sister Jo Ann entered the monastery on October 7, 1956, and became a novice on June 24, 1957, where she took the name, Sister Mary Chrysostom. On June 24, 1959, she made her first profession, and in 1962 she made her perpetual profession as a member of  St. Scholastica Monastery. 

Her first ministry assignment was to teach at St. Joseph’s Catholic School in Paris, Arkansas. She was a good teacher, and her students did well under her guidance; however, she quickly surmised that teaching was not meant to be her profession. Sister worked as a cook at St. Joseph’s Orphanage in North Little Rock and Subiaco Abbey. Sister Jo Ann loved to cook and loved to help people. Over time, she became a clinical dietitian. She earned a bachelor of science degree in Home Economics from the University of Missouri. In the 1970’s she began her Dietetic Internship with Barnes Hospital in St. Louis and continued her studies until she graduated from the University of Arkansas in 1972. Sister Jo Ann was a clinical dietitian at St. Mary’s Hospital, Barnes Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri, and St. Edward’s (Mercy) in Fort Smith, Arkansas. In 1977 Sister Jo Ann was asked to be the monastery Procurator for the community. She did this for two years. From 1979 to 1981, Sister Jo Ann worked in Social Work in Amarillo, Texas. She returned to work in St. Louis at St. Mary’s as a clinical dietitian from 1981 to1996. From 1996 to 1997, Sister Jo Ann took a sabbatical, attending classes at St. John’s University in Minnesota.   Following her sabbatical, Sister Jo Ann was the director of food hospitality for St. Scholastica Retreat Center. She served her sisters and many people in this role for four years. 

Because of declining health, Sister Jo Ann moved to the monastery infirmary in 2001 and Chapel Ridge Health & Rehab in 2017. 


Sister Jo Ann was an enthusiastic, outgoing person. She took great pleasure in preparing healthy and tasty meals for people to enjoy. She possessed a love of humor and the arts. Sister Jo Ann loved the symphony and the Opera. She enjoyed poetry and writing haikus. She was well-read. She played the accordion and loved community events. She was proud of her Slovak heritage and family history. Her hometown in Stuttgart, the Rice Capital of the World, was dear to her. Growing up on her father’s farm somewhere along the line, she developed a love of cute pig figures and amassed a great collection of these throughout her life.  


She was preceded in death by her parents, her brother Gary Senko, and her sister-in-law, Linda Senko. She is survived by her brothers, Frederick, and Sister-in-law, Marilyn, in Henderson, Nevada. Her brother  Michael in North Little Rock, Arkansas; her sister, Shirley Senko, from Memphis, Tennessee and her nephews, Mark, Paul, and Fred Senko; her nieces, Pamela Senko Spencer, Paula Senko Woloeiec, Patricia Senko Stallard, Angela Senko Hynum, and Lydia Senko; beloved great nephews and nieces; and the members of her Benedictine community.   

A Vespers Service will be on November 27, 2022, at 7:30 p.m. The funeral Mass will be on November 28, 2022, at 10:30 a.m., with Rev. Jerome Kodell, OSB, and Rev. Joseph Chan presiding. Both services will be at St. Scholastica Monastery. Burial will follow in St. Scholastica’s cemetery.

Memorials may be made to St. Scholastica Monastery Continuing Care Fund, P.O. Box 3489, Fort Smith, AR 72913.