Remembering Sister Dolores Schuh, CHM

The Collegeville Institute (CI) mourns the death of Sister Dolores Schuh, CHM, a beloved colleague, gifted administrator, and generous friend whose service helped shape CI for more than three decades. Sister Dolores died July 27, 2026, at Kahl Home in Davenport, Iowa. She was 93. 

Sister Dolores first joined the CI community during its early years. She returned in 1974 and served for the next 30 years as administrative secretary, administrator, and executive associate before retiring in 2004. Her responsibilities extended from financial analysis and fundraising to the practical work of caring for CI’s facilities. More importantly, she welcomed scholars, pastors, teachers, and families from across the United States and around the world into a community shaped by hospitality and care. 

She listened attentively, anticipated others’ needs, and maintained relationships long after participants returned home. Through her warmth, humor, and legendary chocolate chip cookies, she helped create a place where people felt welcomed and remembered. Her daily work embodied the Benedictine hospitality that remains central to CI’s identity. 

Saint John’s University honored Sister Dolores with its Outstanding Administrator Award in 1998. The award recognized her generosity, humor, tireless service, and commitment to the values of the Saint John’s community, and by extension, the Collegeville Institute. At a 2004 celebration marking her retirement, former CI board member Bishop James Shannon described her as “a gifted practitioner in the art of building community.” 

We give thanks for Sister Dolores’s life, her faithful service, and the countless ways she helped make CI a place of welcome and belonging. Her legacy lives in the community she helped build and in the many people who encountered her generosity, attentiveness, humor, and care. 

Read the obituary for Sister Dolores Shuh, CHM, here. 

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