101-year-old Mayo Clinic employee remembered for lasting legacy, kindness
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(ABC 6 News) – A woman who made an everlasting impact on Rochester and Mayo Clinic is being honored for all the work she has done for the community.
Sister Lauren Weinandt, passed away peacefully in her sleep Monday. She was 101 years old.
In the halls of Saint Marys Hospital, the Sisters of Saint Francis have spent decades dedicated to helping people.
Now, for those sisters, the halls feel a bit more empty.
“She would energize whoever was there with her and people walked out of her office with a different outlook on life,” said Sister Cashel. “She influenced us three people by the way she lived.”
A woman who made an everlasting impact on Rochester and Mayo Clinic is being honored for all the work she has done for the community.
For 67 years, Sister Lauren dedicated her life to Saint Marys.
She was not a doctor. She was just a woman who was dedicated to her faith and helping everyone she met.
“Saint Marys Hospital was a perfect place for her to work. 67 years and yet it was more of a lifestyle than it was a job,” said her nephew, Mike Weinandt.
These people she helped and loved, now celebrating what would have been her 102nd birthday on Wednesday.
“She wanted this birthday to go on whether she was here or not. But, that’s the story of her life. I think it tells about why people loved her so much,” said Sister Cashel.
People she loved, worked with and even those she barely knew came to her party.
In total, 5,000 ice cream cones were served and that’s something Sister Lauren would have been happy about.
Sister Lauren put a Saint Christopher’s medallion in every single ambulance, even blessing the helicopters, so when people were at their lowest, they were protected by God and by Sister Lauren.
“I’m just so proud of her and her legacy,” Mike said. “She’s going to be greatly missed.”
While she’s no longer with us, Sister Lauren will leave a lasting impact on everyone she met.
“I wanted to go out into the world and help everybody that I could, but instead people came to me. I just feel like I’m part of it. It’s been my life desire,” Sister Lauren said in an interview just a few years ago.