Sister Linnea Welter, a revered English professor at the College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph who once served as president of the college, died on Dec. 19 at her home in St. Cloud. She was 95.
Her classes on Shakespeare and C.S. Lewis were favorites among students, said colleagues.
Born Eleanor Welter in Excelsior, she graduated from St. Benedict's High School in St. Joseph. In 1932, she graduated from the College of St. Benedict with a bachelor's degree in English, and in 1937 she earned a master's degree in English from the University of Minnesota.
In 1937, she entered the Monastery of St. Benedict, becoming Sister Linnea. She took her perpetual vows in 1942.
She studied Shakespeare in England, and after teaching stints at Regis High School in Eau Claire, Wis., and Cathedral High School in St. Cloud, she joined the faculty at St. Benedict, where she served for 32 years.
Former student Margaret Hinton of Burnsville took an English composition course from her nearly 40 years ago.
"I just hung on every word," said Hinton. "She influenced my writing forever."
Welter was twice chairwoman of the English Department.
From 1961 to 1963, she served as president of the college. During her tenure as leader, the college and the monastery were separately incorporated, and a board of trustees was installed. The number of lay faculty was increased, discussions were begun about academic cooperation with St. John's University in Collegeville, Minn., and the Benedicta Arts Center was completed.
Sister Sheila Rausch of St. Benedict's monastery said Welter "was a fun, witty colleague, who loved early British literature, written at a time when God was part of the atmosphere."
She was a demanding teacher.
"It was her nature to share what she loved," said Rausch, a former student. "And that's what made her a good teacher. She loved to teach."
Welter wrote book reviews for the Sisters Today publication. She also did informal readings and led literary discussions at the monastery.
She read to the blind and enjoyed nurturing plants.
She retired from teaching in 1982, but she continued as a writer and editor for the college. In 1992, she retired to the St. Scholastica Convent in St. Cloud.
She is survived by her brother, Gerald of Minnetonka, and sister, Janice DuPont of Bloomington.
Services have been held.
