By Maureen E. McGaffin
FOR THE TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, October 7, 2010

Sister Aelred Schroeffel is spirited, sharp as a tack and still prays for everyone with her favorite pink rosary.

Schroeffel will celebrate her 100th birthday Sunday with friends, family and associates from the St. Francis Convent in Mt. Alvernia in Millvale.

Among the guests will be retired auxiliary Bishop William J. Winter. The retired nun and former school teacher still can't believe that she is 100.

"You even taught him, Aelred," said Sister Mary Meyer, referring to Bishop Winter. "How about that?"

Schroeffel responded with a hearty laugh.

"I guess that makes me special since I taught someone who now outranks me in the church," she said.

Schroeffel has taught many of the priests of the Capuchin Order in Lawrenceville. They remember her as one of the best science teachers they had, according to Father Gervase Degenhardt, a chaplain at the St. Francis Convent.

"She's a marvelous inspiration to us all," he said.

Schroeffel taught high school science in many of the Diocesan schools in Pittsburgh for 46 years, where her subjects included chemistry, biology and physics. She thinks today's modern school curriculums are too watered down.

"I think education is oversimplified today," Schroeffel said. "When I taught I was strict, but the kids appreciated that. I told them to keep their eyes and ears open and their mouths shut. They knew who they were dealing with. I meant business."

She officially retired from teaching in 1980 but continued part-time until 2003.

Schroeffel is the oldest of nine children, born in 1910 to Anthony and Anna (Burgunder) Schroeffel from the Troy Hill section of Pittsburgh.

Her two brothers and six sisters are deceased, but she retains fond memories of her childhood, even growing up through the Depression. Her parents' perseverance and faith is what inspired her to enter the convent while a student at Duquesne University.

A sister of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities for nearly 82 years, Schroeffel entered the convent in 1928 and is the only surviving member of the original 12 from her class.

After retiring from teaching full-time, she took a job as an assistant in the pathology department at St. Francis Hospital in New Castle for nine years.

"I met many residents during their training," Schroeffel said. "It was a very busy place and somebody always needed something right away."

A woman of deep faith, Schroeffel said God is still a very powerful influence in her life.

"He provides for my needs and when emergencies arise, God is my support," she said.