Sister Laverne Miller

Sister Laverne Miller, CSA, baptized Marlene Agnes, died peacefully May 7, 2025, at St. Francis Home, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

Marlene was born in Decatur, Indiana, on June 21, 1936, to Casper John and Margaret Cecilia Omlor Miller. She grew up on her family farm with her three brothers and two sisters. Marlene entered St. Agnes Convent after graduation from Decatur Catholic High School in 1954. She made her profession of vows in the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes as Sister Laverne on August 15, 1957, in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

Sister Laverne was introduced to ministry in healthcare while spending one year of her novitiate working as a dietary aide at St. Clare Hospital in Monroe, Wisconsin. After her profession of vows, she was a student in the X-ray Department of St. Clare Hospital and at The Quisling Clinic in Madison, Wisconsin, becoming a registered radiology technologist on May 7, 1960. She ministered as a radiologist for forty-six years serving at St. Clare Hospital, Monroe, at Mt. Sinai Hospital, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and for thirty-two years at St. Agnes Hospital, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. During her time at St. Agnes Hospital, she also worked part-time as an ultrasound technician at Ripon Memorial Hospital, Ripon, Wisconsin. As the field of radiology advanced and expanded, Sister Laverne continually updated her knowledge and skills to meet ever-changing needs and methods. She worked long hours and was often on call during weekends, always welcoming and supportive to her patients and the staff. Again adapting her focus in healthcare, Sister Laverne spent her final eight years in full-time ministry on staff in the cardio-vascular lab at St. Agnes Hospital.

Before working at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Milwaukee, Sister Laverne spent four months (February—May 1970) volunteering nights as a nursing assistant at Henry Boyle Catholic Home for the Aged in Fond du Lac. This experience prepared her for her choice to volunteer at St. Francis Home in Fond du Lac following her retirement from full-time ministry in August 2003. Sister Laverne was a beloved presence at St. Francis Home caring for the chapel and the gift shop. She prepared the chapel for daily Mass, funerals, and special celebrations. At times, she could be found assisting with the painting of walls throughout the St. Francis Home campus. Other times she was in the gift shop, managing sales and inventory. She responded to the needs of the residents and staff with a gentle, joyful, and caring presence that will be remembered by all who knew her.

Needing care for herself, Sister Laverne joined her CSA sisters at Nazareth Court and Center in August 2014. She was placed in the care of St. Francis Home in September 2020.

Sister Laverne was preceded in death by her parents; her brothers Leo (Elizabeth) Miller and William (Clara) Miller; her sisters Margaret Jane Miller and Joan (Lowell) Hawbaker, her sister-in-law, Roseanne Vodde Miller.

She is survived by her brother Maurice Miller, her nieces and nephews and their families, and the Sisters of St. Agnes, with whom she lived, prayed, and ministered.

All services for Sister Laverne will be held on Friday, May 16, 2025.

Visitation will be held from 9:00 – 11:00 a.m. and 12:00 –1:30 p.m. at Nazareth Court and Center, 375 Gillett Street, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

A Prayer Service will be held at 11:00 a.m., in Nazareth Center Chapel, 375 Gillett Street, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

The Liturgy of Christian Burial will be offered at 2:00 p.m. in St. Francis Home Chapel, 33 Everett Street, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, with Father Tom Zelinski, OFM Cap., presiding.

Burial will follow at St. Joseph Springs Cemetery, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

Memorials can be directed to the CSA Mission Advancement Office, 320 County Road K, Fond du Lac, WI 54937.

The Sisters of St. Agnes and the Miller family are grateful to the nurses and staff of Nazareth Court and Center, St. Francis Home, and Hospice Hope for their care of Sister Laverne in the last years of her life.

Zacherl Funeral Home is serving the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes.