Mercy Sister Helen Weinfurter, 97, died May 5.

Born in Wisconsin, she entered the Sisters of Mercy in 1938 and professed perpetual vows in 1944.

Her first teaching assignments were at Chicago schools: St. Gabriel, St. Mary of the Lake and St. Catherine of Siena. 

After teaching at other Illinois and Wisconsin schools, she spent 30 years as an associate professor at Saint Xavier University, where she received the teacher excellence award in 1982.