Sister Marie Therese Brosseau, who was a member of the Carmelite Monastery of the Sacred Heart in Baltimore for more than 60 years, died May 5 at Stella Maris Hospice in Timonium of complications from a series of strokes.
She was 86.
The daughter of farmers Alcide Peter Brosseau and Cordellia Blain Brosseau, Blanche Genevieve Brosseau was born and raised in Tilbury, Ontario, Canada. She attended St. Charles School in Tilbury.
She entered the Carmelite Monastery of the Sacred Heart in 1947, which was then at Caroline and Biddle streets in East Baltimore. The monastery moved to its present site on Dulaney Valley Road, north of Towson, in 1961.
She professed her vows in 1949 and took the religious name of Sister Marie Therese of the Child Jesus.
Sister Therese, who spoke English and French fluently, had various responsibilities. She cooked, baked, shopped for food and managed her order's kitchen. She also worked in the infirmary and at the reception desk.
She retired in 2008 and moved to Mercy Villa in Rodgers Forge.
"She was a wonderful cook and baker, and was known for her decorated cakes, which were always one of our main items when we had raffles," said Sister Colette Ackerman, a former prioress who is now the order's secretary and assistant treasurer.
"When we moved out here, there was an old apple orchard that she took an interest in and revived," said Sister Colette. "She made the most wonderful apple sauce, crab apple jelly and apple crisp."
"People who came to the monastery with prayer requests were drawn to her friendliness, openness and compassion for their trials and needs. They were also drawn to her beautiful smile," said Sister Judy Long, who is the current prioress. "She was a comfort to all who knew her."
A Mass of Christian burial will be offered at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Carmelite Monastery, 1314 Dulaney Valley Road.
She is survived by two sisters, Agathe Couture and Leona Tremblay, both of Tilbury; and many nieces and nephews.