Please remember in your prayers Mary Theuer, who served as secretary to Father Dennis Dease during 13 years of his presidency at St. Thomas. She died Friday.
Theuer joined St. Thomas in 1979 as secretary to Dr. Pauline Lambert, assistant academic dean. Theuer then was secretary to Dr. Jim Reid, who succeeded Lambert in 1983 and became vice president for academic affairs in 1984. Dease hired her in 1992.
“Mary always had good, practical solutions,” Dease said. “I really liked her philosophy of life, which was sprinkled with humor, and she didn’t take herself too seriously. She was an excellent secretary.”
Karen Hennes, who succeeded Theuer when she retired in 2005 and today is executive assistant to President Julie Sullivan, also cited Theuer’s sense of humor.
“Mary handled sensitive issues and people perfectly,” Hennes said. “She had great balance in her life and was effective in how she dealt with everybody. She was a great gatekeeper for Father Dease and a mentor to me.”
Survivors include her daughter, Jennifer Ruzicka, two grandchildren and six siblings. She was preceded in death by her parents and a brother.
Visitation was at 9 a.m. Friday, Dec. 1, in the Church of the Assumption, 51 West Seventh St., St. Paul, followed at 10 a.m. by a Mass of Christian Burial.
