Sister Ursula taught at St. Joseph Academy

Sister of St. Joseph Ursula Harelson, who taught at schools in Baton Rouge and New Orleans, died Dec. 13, 2016, at St. Francis Hospital in Wichita, Kansas. She was 88 and had served for 71 years in religious life.

A native of Baton Rouge, Sister Ursula was the daughter of Andrew Leo and Mary Zilma Edmonston Harelson.

After graduating from St. Joseph’s Academy in Baton Rouge in 1945, she entered the Sisters of St. Joseph in New Orleans and professed perpetual vows in 1950. She received a bachelor’s degree in education from Loyola University New Orleans in 1960, with minors in math and chemistry. She earned a master’s in mathematics with a minor in chemistry from Union College in New York in 1973.

While she was teaching at St. Joseph Academy in Baton Rouge, Sister Ursula was named outstanding chemistry teacher of the region in 1990. She was also named a distinguished alumna of her alma mater in 1994 and 2001.

Sister Ursula began teaching primary grades at Our Lady of the Rosary School in New Orleans in 1947 and she taught at St. Rose de Lima in New Orleans. For four years, she taught at St. Joseph Academy in New Orleans.

She taught in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, and in Baton Rouge. She moved to Mt. St. Mary Convent in Wichita, Kansas, in 2013.

Her Funeral Mass was celebrated Dec. 14, 2016, at Mt. St. Mary Convent in Wichita. Interment was in Roselawn Cemetery.

She is survived by her sister, Rita Harelson Garon, and her brother, Andrew L. Harelson. She was preceded in death by her sister, Hazel Harelson Kleinpeter, and brothers, William John Harelson and Eddie Harelson. She is also survived by her sisters-in-law, Erin O. Harelson and Katherine N. Harelson, and nieces and nephews.

Memorial donations may be made to the Sister Ursula Harelson Science Fund at www.sjabr.org or mailed to St. Joseph Academy, 3015 Broussard St., Baton Rouge, LA 70808.