Sister Marietta Urban, 83, died March 1 in the Dominican Sisters’ Convent Infirmary in Great Bend. Born Oct. 20, 1928, in Loretto as Viola Margaret Urban, Sister Marietta was the daughter of the late Jacob and Catherine Suppes Urban. She entered the Dominican Sisters’ Community in Great Bend on Aug. 31, 1942, and pronounced her first vows on Aug. 13, 1946. She celebrated 65 years of religious profession in 2011.

Between her years as a teacher and/or principal in Catholic grade schools of Kansas, Sister Marietta spent four years as a missionary in Nigeria, West Africa, and eight years as a secondary teacher in Malawi, Africa. She also served in hospital pastoral care and as coordinator of the motherhouse in Great Bend. Sister Marietta, who "loves working with people," more recently served the elders of Kansas as Director of Harvest House in the Diocese of Wichita and as a Senior Companion with the Mental Health Foundation of Wichita. Sister Marietta was currently residing at the convent infirmary in Great Bend.

Sister Marietta is survived by her Dominican Sisters of Peace religious community; two sisters: Florine Meister of Great Bend and Esther Wanzel of Davenport, Iowa; and her beloved nieces and nephews.

Sister Marietta’s body was brought to the hospitality area of the Dominican Chapel of the Plains, 3600 Broadway in Great Bend, at 4 p.m. on Saturday where it will lie in state until the Liturgy of Christian Burial at 10:30 a.m., Monday with the Rev. Reginald A. Urban presiding. A wake service will be held at 7 p.m. Sunday, March 4. Burial will be in the Sisters’ Resurrection Cemetery. Both the wake and the funeral will be held at the convent. In lieu of flowers, memorials in honor of Sister Marietta may be sent to Dominican Sisters of Peace, 2320 Airport Dr., Columbus, OH 43219-2098. Friends may call at the convent from 10 a.m. until the time of the wake service on Sunday.