Sister of Loretto Martha Belke, formerly Sister Joel, died April 12 in Nerinx, Ky. She was 87 and had been a Sister of Loretto for 69 years.
Sister Belke, a native of Louisville, served as a teacher in Colorado, New Mexico, Illinois and Texas from 1948 to 1961.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Nazareth College in 1962. That same year, she began teaching at Montgomery Catholic High School, now known as Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School, where she served for 36 years.
Sister Belke also served in the finance office at the Loretto Motherhouse from 1998 to 2008.
She is survived by several nieces, nephews and her religious community.
The Mass of Christian Burial will be April 16, at 10 a.m. at the Church of the Seven Dolors on the grounds of the Loretto Motherhouse in Nerinx. She will be buried in the Loretto Motherhouse Cemetery.
Expressions of sympathy may be made to the Loretto Community in care of the Loretto Development Office, 4000 S. Wadsworth Blvd., Littleton, Colo., 80123-1308.
