January 11, 1924 – February 24, 2020

Sister Mary Celeste Cour, OSU, died peacefully February 24, 2020, at St. Andrew’s at Francis Place in Eureka, Missouri.

The daughter of Raymond F. Cour and Frances Irene Greeley, she was born January 11, 1924, in Springfield, Illinois. As a young student at Ursuline Academy in Springfield, she was captivated by stories of the missions and dreamed of the day when she could give her life to this work. She entered the Ursuline Sisters in Crystal City, Missouri, in 1944 and made her vows in 1947.

Sister Celeste earned a bachelor’s degree in math from the College of New Rochelle in New York and a master’s degree in education from the University of Notre Dame. She taught briefly in Galveston, Texas, before heading for South America, where she served for eight years in British Guyana and Barbados.

After returning to the states, Sister Celeste served as bursar at Springfield College in Springfield, Illinois, and in local leadership roles for the Ursuline communities in Springfield, Illinois; New Orleans, Louisiana; and Crystal City and De Soto, Missouri.  She also served the Central Province as procurator, assistant treasurer, assistant provincial and provincial.

Sister Celeste donated her body to St. Louis University. A Memorial Mass will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, March 28, at Mary Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Webster Groves, Missouri.