S. Harriet Gobel OSB, 88, died Monday, January 10, 2011 in the Sacred Heart Monastery Care Center.

       A wake service will be held Wednesday, January 12 at 7:30 p.m. and the Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. on Thursday, January 13, 2011 in Bishop Marty Memorial Chapel.  Burial will be in the monastery cemetery.

    Denise Clara Gobel was born January 18, 1922 on a ranch near the Santee Reservation in NE Nebraska during a winter snowstorm.  She was the middle child and only daughter of Trudo (True) and Ella (Beeson) Gobel.  In her autobiography she cites her five years at St. Andrew’s School in Bloomfield as outstanding in her memory.  After moving closer to Crofton, NE, she attended Crofton High School for one year before becoming a boarding student at Mount Marty High School in Yankton.  She recalls that she loved every minute of this experience and was impressed with the daily schedule, the teachers, the liturgies, the Sodality and the annual student retreat.

  She and her MMHS roommate, Eileen (S. Kathleen) McCarthy, entered Sacred Heart Monastery on August 20, 1939.  Denise was invested as a novice the following year and received the name, Harriet.  She made first profession on June 24,1941and began nurse’s training at Sacred Heart School of Nursing.  She spent 20 years ministering at Sacred Heart Hospital including fourteen years as director of the nursing school.  She earned Master’s degrees in Nursing Education Administration and in Social Work. She taught and served in several administrative roles at Mount Marty College including nursing and social work. She also served in the area of geriatrics as a program director and as a consultant to several facilities in SE South Dakota and NE Nebraska.

  Though small of stature, S. Harriet was a woman of boundless energy and enthusiasm.  Her ready smile was one of her hallmarks.  She liked new challenges and met each one with commitment and tenacity.

   S. Harriet is survived by her Benedictine community; her brother, Fred and several nieces and nephews.  She was preceded in death by her parents, and her brothers Gordon, Reginald (Rex) and Giles.

                                       Eternal Rest Grant Unto Her O Lord,

                                   and Let Perpetual Light Shine Upon Her.

                                                    May She Rest in Peace.