Obituary: Jeanne Dueber SL, 88, Nerinx

Sister Jeanne (formerly Sister Eugenie Marie) Dueber SL, 88, of Nerinx, died Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026, at the Loretto Living Center on the grounds of Loretto Motherhouse in Nerinx.

The noted sculptor, mixed-media artist and teacher was 88 and in the 67th year of her Loretto commitment. The second of 10 children (two of whom died in infancy) of Dorothy (Carpenter) and Clarence E. Dueber, she was born July 14, 1937, in St. Louis and baptized Dorothy Jeanne Dueber.

She was received into the Sisters of Loretto at the Foot of the Cross May 24, 1959. She earned a bachelor’s degree in 1962 at Webster College in St. Louis where she had been on a full scholarship and worked for renowned artist Rudolph Torrini as his assistant. She earned a master’s in sculpture in 1969 from the University of Iowa, Iowa City, where she studied under Oliver Strebelle. In 1972, she received the Fulbright-Hays study grant in art history, which she used to study works in Italy.

Her artistic gifts were evident from the beginning. A sibling once remarked that she had been an artist her whole life, sculpting even as a young child. At Loretto Academy in Kansas City, Mo., she served as a teacher and head of the art department from 1962 to 1975, with one exception, when in 1968-1969 she worked toward her master’s degree in Iowa. While at Loretto Academy, she filled the school with her original works and occasionally created sculptures alongside her students.

In 1978, she found her true home at Loretto Motherhouse, where she devoted herself fully to creating art. She worked as a full-time sculptor and artist-in-residence well into her later years. With another Loretto sister, she restored the first floor of Rhodes Hall to serve as her studio; the second floor, once a dormitory, became the gallery where her work was exhibited. She was also a founding member of ENID, a Louisville-based collective of women sculptors.

She became known for her use of natural materials to explore spirituality, faith and the human form. Many were struck by the contrast between her own small stature and the monumental scale of her work. One gallery noted, “Jeanne Dueber is a sculptor who is proof that women can make huge, heavy works that are animated with motion and feeling and that the ability to work BIG isn’t owned by men. She carves and splices many pieces of wood together to create large, expressive abstractions.”

Some of her most powerful pieces speak to the tension between light and dark energies — in the world and within the human spirit. Her work has appeared in more than 100 exhibitions across the United States and is represented in numerous public and private collections. In her own words, she explained, “Art deals with the spirit. It’s expression that comes out of your emotions. Everyone has a different opinion of any particular work. I really encourage people to come and see my work for themselves.”

Preceding her in death were her parents and her sister, Judith Ann Halbert.

She is survived by three sisters, Joanne (Bill) Fogarty and Julianne (Julie) Dueber, both of St. Louis, and Mary Jane Lyle of Albuquerque, N.M.; three brothers, Thomas (Cheri) Dueber of Wilmington, Del., Michael (Jeanene) Dueber of Chicago, and Daniel (Susan) Dueber of Colorado Springs, Colo.

The wake is 6:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 6, 2026 at the Loretto Motherhouse. The Mass of Christian Burial is 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026, at Loretto Motherhouse. Burial is in the Our Lady of Sorrows Cemetery on the Motherhouse grounds.

Memorials donations may go to the Sisters of Loretto, c/o Loretto Motherhouse, 430 Academy Lane, Nerinx, KY 40049 or as an online gift at www.lorettocommunity.org.

Mattingly Funeral Home in Loretto is in charge of arrangements.

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