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A Life Lived for Others: Remembering Sister Thomas Welder
Former University of Mary President Sister Thomas Welder, OSB, passed away at her Annunciation Monastery home on June 22, 2020, at the age of 80, following a recent diagnosis of kidney cancer.
Admired locally, regionally and nationally as a true servant leader, Sister Thomas cared tremendously for all University of Mary students, faculty, staff, and alumni, as well as her beloved Sisters of Annunciation Monastery. She lived out the Gospel of Jesus daily through her love for people. She often said people energized her and gave her joy, which was evident by her contagious smile and how she made everyone feel special.
“Sister Thomas lived her life for others,” said Sister Nicole Kunze, Prioress of Annunciation Monastery. “She was always giving to others, whether it was a smile, an encouraging word, or a promise of prayer. She often said that the greatest gift you could give a person was the gift of your time, and she did that without fail. Sister Thomas modeled so many of our Benedictine values with ease and grace. She truly received all as Christ. She was intent on maintaining a vibrant connection between the Sisters of the monastery and our sponsored institutions.”
Diane Welder was born in Linton, North Dakota on April 27, 1940, to Mary Ann (Kuhn) and Sebastian Welder. She was the oldest of three children. When she was two years old, the family moved to Bismarck.
A graduate of St. Mary’s High School, she joined Annunciation Monastery after a year of college in Minnesota. Attracted by the community and prayer life of the Sisters, she felt God’s call to become one of them. She made her monastic profession on July 11, 1961, and took the name Thomas. Sister Thomas cherished Benedictine monastic life, which she lived faithfully for 59 years. She enjoyed directing the community choir and
spending time with her Sisters. In 1970, her mother Mary Ann also became a Benedictine Sister after being widowed in 1951.
Sister Thomas during a moment of prayer at her retirement celebration.
Sister Thomas began her career as a teacher at the University in 1963, when it was Mary College. She was inaugurated as president in 1978. As president, Sister Thomas helped the school gain university status, experience steady growth, and add numerous undergraduate and on-site graduate degree programs throughout North Dakota. She helped make Mary one of the premier institutions for the preparation of leaders and fostered leadership development in students and colleagues.
“Sister Thomas Welder was a rare person,” said University of Mary President Monsignor James Shea. “Under her leadership and vision, the University of Mary was confirmed in its purpose to form leaders in the service of truth in renewed and ever-growing ways; and Sister Thomas’s leadership touched thousands of students’ lives as the University grew and expanded over her presidency. But perhaps even more than this, Sister Thomas was known for her attentiveness, her humility, her heart for service, and her love for her vocation as a Benedictine Sister of Annunciation Monastery. It was these qualities, too, which touched innumerable lives over the course of her life.”
Not only did she impact students, but her staff as well. “She always made it a point to meet the university employees and visit us often. She’d get to know everyone, asking about our families and our lives,” shared Joan Weltz, who has known Sister Thomas since Weltz started working at Mary 47 years ago. “At staff picnics, she always made sure to talk to everyone. We had to make sure someone made her a plate; otherwise, she wouldn’t eat. She was too busy talking to everyone and their families.”
As president, Sister Thomas relied on the counsel of those around her to help guide her decisions. “I don’t think she was ever afraid to ask for help,” Weltz said. Neal Kalberer, who served as vice president for Public Affairs during the time Sister Thomas was president, said that Sister always welcomed insight from those around her and always made sure everyone was on the same page.
“We always knew what we were going to do each day when we were coming up the hill. There was always a clear plan, but there was also always room for adjustments. Sister Thomas was constantly available to offer insight or help make a plan,” Kalberer said.
Sister Thomas played a vital role in recruitment and fundraising, both of which Kalberer oversaw. “If she was available, she always wanted to meet with potential
Sister Thomas and other Sisters of Annunciation Monastery next to Gift Hill Cross.
always in the moment, and you could tell. When she’d walk in the room, you knew it assistant for twenty years. Sister Janet joined Annunciation Monastery a year after Sister Thomas. “She always gave everything she had to a day. I think she realized that life is short, so she put everything she had into each day,” she said.
“She never ran out of energy,” said Kalberer. In her free time, Sister Thomas enjoyed music, reading, spending time with family, and picking wildflowers. “She loved going to Medora and the Badlands and picking wildflowers,” Sister Janet shared. “One Fourth of July, she heard of a rare white orchid by Valley City, so we drove there with Sister Nicole and found it. It brought her great joy.” Sister Janet Notes sent from Sister Thomas to Joan Weltz, now treasured keepsakes, which display her gift for writing and also her sense of humor. described Sister Thomas as a true “Dakota woman” students and their parents when they came delight in her home state. to visit,” he said. “This was often the key to At the start of Shea’s current presidency enrollment,” Kalberer added, noting that in 2009 and after her 31-year tenure as the Sister Thomas was always his best marketing fifth University of Mary president, Sister tool. She was a valuable companion on his Thomas continued to be involved with development visits, even if she made him University of Mary as president emerita run a little behind schedule. “She never — remaining active with public speaking wanted to end a good conversation,” he said. events, committees, and fundraising in the “I tried to send her subtle messages that we department of Mission Advancement until had another meeting, but she never paid any her passing. attention. She was too focused on the person in front of her. “There’s no question of the impact she had on the University of Mary, the “She had a real presence, a true presence,” Bismarck-Mandan community, North Kalberer continued. “Wherever she was, Dakota, and beyond,” said Kalberer. “It’s that’s where she wanted to be. She was remarkable, all that she did.” who took great pride and was going to be a special time.” Many alumni, students, and friends of the University gathered both in
Notes sent from Sister Thomas to Joan Weltz, now treasured keepsakes, which display her gift for writing and also her sense of humor.
– Kathleen Norris, Dakota: A Spiritual Geography
Sister Thomas was a night owl and often person and virtually to give thanks for worked late into the evening, shared Sister her life over a three-day vigil and funeral. Janet Zander, who served as Sister Thomas’s “The pain we feel today at losing Thomas is nothing compared to the joy of having known her,” said Sister Nicole at the funeral. “Thank you, Sister Thomas, for the joy you have given us. We are better people for having known you.”
Many of her Benedictine Sisters, friends, family, and colleagues now cherish all the little notes and cards she wrote them. “Her cards always had a poetic, refreshing message,” Sister Janet said. “She often
Sister Thomas with her signature smile and laugh at a groundbreaking ceremony.
One of the most important things to Sister Thomas was the Benedictine value of hospitality. She enjoyed getting to know the University’s students and joining them for lunch.
recycled cards in a funny way, and they were the kinds of cards you would keep to read again, to be encouraged and to laugh.”
“She liked to have fun,” Weltz said, another recipient of her ‘recycled’ cards. “She had a sneaky little sense of humor.”
Kalberer remembered her notes as well. “She had a gift. She was highly skilled in writing letters, even emails, that made you feel special and known. I often wonder how someone can be that special—but she just was.”
Sister Thomas Welder influenced countless people during her lifetime and, more profoundly, so many students during her time as the longest serving female university president in American history. She was the same person no matter where she was or who she was around and was always very humbled by the attention she received.
“Wherever you went, you always had to share her,” said Weltz. “But she was always so gracious. She took a deep interest in everyone.”
One of the most important things to Sister Thomas was the Benedictine value of hospitality. She enjoyed getting to know the University’s students and joining them for lunch.
“She always had for everyone a gracious and encouraging word. A public life is a life of words, but when Sister Thomas spoke about servant leadership, about education, about religious life, when she said your name, something stirred inside you,” said Shea in his funeral homily. Sister Thomas’ knack for remembering names, particularly the thousands of students, alumni, and faculty, is one of her most gifted qualities that will be forever treasured. “Her attention to the details of daily lives and family members of those she met would be recalled in future encounters. Students, faculty, staff, and guests of the Monastery would marvel when she asked about people and situations in their lives that had been discussed months, even years, earlier. She had a ready laugh and gentle nature that made others comfortable in her presence,” said Sister Nicole.
But for Sister Thomas, it was never about the names. “It’s the people that matter,” she would say. “Whoever comes my way is welcome because they have been created by God and they have the beauty of being a human person, and they are welcome into my life.”
