Submitted by Cheney Witt Funeral Home

Sister Mary Barbara Karleskint, RSM, age 98, a former resident of Fort Scott, Kan., and more recently of St. Louis, Mo., passed Friday, September 8, 2017, at Catherine’s Residence in St. Louis.

She was born May 3, 1919, in Miami, Okla., the daughter of Joseph Karleskint and Mary Hickman Karleskint. She entered the Sisters of Mercy Community in 1937 and professed her Final Vows in 1940. She received her B. S. degree in Home Economics from St. Mary of the Woods College in Indiana in 1951 and her M. Ed degree in Elementary Education from the University of St. Mary in Xavier, Kan., in 1955. She also received her Certificate of Pastoral Education in 1977 from St. John’s Hospital in Springfield, Mo. Sister’s ministry included teaching for more than 20 years in elementary and secondary schools in Louisiana, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. She also ministered at Mercy Center in St. Louis, Mo., and St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Hutchison, Kan. After completing her courses in clinical pastoral counseling, she became a chaplain at Mercy Hospital in Fort Scott.

Survivors include a brother, Jake Karleskint, of Cleveland, Ohio, and numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, two brothers, Joe and Tony Karleskint and four sisters, Bessy Louise Karleskint who died in infancy, Virginia McLaughlin, Sister Mary Alfreda Karleskint and Sister Mary Bernadette Karleskint.

Father Robert Wachter will conduct Mass of Christian Burial at 10 a.m. Thursday, September 14, at the Mary Queen of Angels Catholic Church. Burial will follow in the St. Mary’s Cemetery. Services are under the direction of the Cheney Witt Chapel, 201 S. Main, Ft. Scott, Kansas. Words of remembrance may be submitted to the online guestbook atcheneywitt.com.