Obituary for Sister Rosella McCormick, OSU

Ursuline Sister of Louisville Rosella McCormick, O.S.U., age 91, died in the 69th year of her religious life on December 14, 2025, at Baptist Health Louisville. Born Bertha Ann in North Platte, Nebraska, she was invested as an Ursuline Sister in 1956.

Sister Rosella had the Ursuline Sisters as teachers at St. Patrick's High School in North Platte. After graduating in 1951, she attended Ursuline College in Louisville on a scholarship but returned home for three years after her freshman year due to her father's poor health. She later recalled, “…those three years, I frequently went to daily Mass. It seemed God nudged something in me as I observed the Sisters file into the front rows of the church. I think the idea of being a woman where prayer and community living were valued was becoming important to me.”

Sister Rosella taught at St. Patrick High School in North Platte, Nebraska from 1961-1964, and at St. Raphael School and Angela Merici High School in Louisville, Kentucky. She was a part time professor at Bellarmine University, Jefferson Community College, Somerset Community College and Indiana University Southeast. Sister Rosella ministered as adult education director at St. Jerome parish in Fairdale, Kentucky.

She served as the director of novices (1967-1970), vocations director (1971-1977) and was president of the Ursuline Sisters (1988-92). Sister Rosella ministered as a pastoral associate at Holy Spirit (Jamestown, Kentucky), Christ the King (McFarland, Wisconsin), St. Gabriel and St. Leonard (both in Louisville).

Sister Rosella also served on the Vocation Committee and Pastoral Council for the Archdiocese of Louisville, Bellarmine College’s Board of Trustees, and the advisory board for the former Angela Merici Center for Spirituality. She volunteered as a retreat facilitator and adult formation presenter with the Archdiocese of Louisville. Sister Rosella also volunteered with Women Empowering Women retreats, Ursuline Associate retreats, St. Vincent de Paul Open Hand Kitchen, and at Holy Trinity Parish with the RCIA team, bereavement ministry and as a lector.

Sister Rosella earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Ursuline College (now Bellarmine University) and a master’s degree in sociology from St. John’s University, New York. She did post-graduate work at Notre Dame, Creighton University, and Washington Theological Union.

Sister Rosella was the daughter of the late Henry and Margaret Beckius McCormick. She is survived by her sisters-in-law, Sandy McCormick and Beverly Befort of North Platte, several nieces and nephews, as well as her community of Ursuline Sisters and Associates.

Visitation will be at Bosse Funeral Home, 1355 Ellison Avenue, on Thursday, December 18, from 2–5 p.m., with the vigil service at 2:30 p.m. The funeral Mass will be celebrated on Friday, December 19, at 11 a.m. in the Motherhouse Chapel, with burial to follow in St. Michael Cemetery. The funeral will be live streamed here: https://vimeo.com/event/5591119

Expressions of sympathy may be made to the Ursuline Sisters of Louisville and mailed to the Donor Relations Office, 3115 Lexington Road, Louisville, KY 40206.