A funeral mass for Sister Helen (Nelda Louise) LeDuc, D.C., was celebrated Oct. 15, 2012, at Anna House Chapel in the Sarah Community, in Bridgeton, Mo. Interment was Oct. 16 at Marillac Cemetery in Normandy, Mo.
Born in Highland, Ill., on June 7, 1920, she was the daughter of Alvin and Orda (Heinrich) LeDuc and one of seven children. Sister Helen entered the Daughters of Charity in St. Louis, Mo., in 1947. Sister Helen celebrated 65 years as a Daughter of Charity in September.
She spent the majority of her Community life as an educator and teacher in Louisiana; at St Vincent Grade School in Perryville, Mo. (1955 to 1959 and 1987 to 2002); Arizona; Utah; Iowa; Brewer, Mo.; West Plains, Mo.; and at Corpus Christi District School in St. Louis, Mo. (1978 to 1987). She also served as the computer coordinator at St. Vincent’s Grade School in Perryville (1995 to 2002).
Sister Helen earned her high school diploma from Laboure High School in St. Louis in 1947. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in history and a minor in philosophy from Fontbonne College (now University) in St. Louis in 1956, and her Master of Science degree in elementary administration from Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield, Mo., in 1979. She held lifetime teaching certification in elementary education in both Missouri and Illinois.
In February of 2002, Sister Helen entered the Ministry of Prayer at Sarah Community in Bridgeton. Sister died Oct. 11, 2012, at 92 years of age.
Sister Helen’s brothers, Milton LeDuc and Virgil LeDuc, along with her sister, Lorna LeDuc Kelly, preceded her in death. She is survived by two sisters, Sister Annette LeDuc, D.C., of St. Louis; and Linda Lou LeDuc of Highland, Ill.; her brother, Lester LeDuc of Highland, Ill.; nieces; nephews; grand-nieces and grand-nephews; cousins; and her Sisters in Community.