Gemma Hartinger

Sister Hartinger passed away on Sunday, March 16, 2003 at the St. Vincent?s Care Center in Bismarck. Sister Gemma was born on January 3, 1917 and baptized as Frances Mary, was the sixth child of seven born to George and Mary (VanAckeren) Hartinger in Glen Ullin. She attended Sacred Heart Grade School and Glen Ullin Public High School. In 1939, after a year at St. Benedict?s College in St. Joseph, Minnesota, she entered Sacred Heart Monastery, then located at Garrison, and made her first monastic profession in 1941. After earning her teaching credentials through Mount Marty College in Yankton, South Dakota, she began her long and devoted service as an elementary school teacher. She taught at St. Leo?s and Little Flower Schools in Minot, St. Nicholas School in Garrison, St. Mary?s School in Malta, MT and St. Vincent?s School in Mott. From 1967 to 1975 she was assigned to St. Benedict?s Academy in Bogota, Colombia, which was then a mission of Sacred Heart Monastery. In addition to her teaching, Sr. Gemma served on various committees and from 1964 to 1967 was subprioess of the Monastery. In 1991 she retired to the monastery where she compiled community photo albums and used her calligraphy and artistic skills for creating posters, signs, and greeting cards. She credited her brothers with giving her a lifelong interest in sports, and she enjoyed cheering her favorite teams from the television room. However, her greatest satisfaction and pride came in remembering students and stories from her nearly 50 years of teaching. Sr. Gemma is survived by her brother Joe Hartinger of Glen Ullin, her sister, Catherine Folliard of Sonoma, CA, numerous nephews and nieces, as well as the Sisters of Sacred Heart Monastery. Her parents, who both died before she was 14 years old, her brothers, Ted, Frank, Lawrence, and sister Anna, preceded her in death. Stevenson-Mischel-Olson Chapel


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Burial Date: March 20, 2003
Funeral Home Dickinson, ND

Mass: Thursday, Sacred Heart Monastery, Richardton