Oblate Sisters of St. Francis de Sales Sister Susan Louise Eder, longtime principal of Holy Cross Academy in Fredericksburg, died Oct. 13 after a yearslong battle with cancer. She was a consecrated member of the oblate sisters for 48 years.
She was born in Elkton, Md., Sept. 30, 1954, the daughter of the late James and Nancy (Beamer) Eder.
She entered the order in 1972, after feeling a strong call to religious life in high school, and professed vows in 1974. In the next several years, two of her sisters joined the order: Anne Elizabeth (1975) and Frances Carol (1980).
Following her profession, she served as teacher and administrator including Mount Aviat Academy, Childs, Md., St. Anthony of Padua, Wilmington, Del., and St. Bernadette School, Drexel Hill, Pa.
Sister Eder was one of three sisters sent to help lead Holy Cross after the diocese reached out to the order in 1996. She attended the groundbreaking in 1997 and helped develop the curriculum. The school opened in 1998 and accepted 420 students.
Sister Eder served as principal for more than two decades, during which time the school was designated a National Blue Ribbon school of excellence (2012) and received a Purple Star Designation (2018) for its commitment to students and families connected to the U.S. military. Sister Frances Carol also served as a teacher there.
In 2019, Sister Eder became principal of Immaculate Heart of Mary in Towson, Md.
“In the course of my religious life, I have had the privilege of living with Oblate Sisters from Europe, Africa, Latin America and, of course, the United States. … Learning how others think, feel and even pray opens our minds and hearts to the greater reality of the body of Christ,” Sister Eder wrote for the Catholic Herald in 2019. “At its center, the consecrated life is always about seeking a profound union with God in a community valuing the same goals and ideals. By living with men and women from different nations, with unique histories and experiences, we learn that community is not about what makes us different but about what binds us together.”
Sister Eder is predeceased by her parents Nancy and Jim Eder; her sister Elizabeth; brother, Phillip; and her stepmother, Margie. She is survived by her brother Rusty (Joan); sisters, Srs. Anne Elizabeth and Frances Carol, Judy Pinder (Terry); and her nieces and nephews Paul, Gail, Mary, Katherine, Arnold, Anna, Rebecca, and Thomas, and many cousins, great nieces and nephews.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered Oct. 20 at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, 8501 Loch Raven Blvd., Baltimore, at noon, preceded by visitation at 10 a.m. Holy Cross Academy announced Oct. 16 that preschool through eighth grade would be closed Oct. 20 “to allow those in our community who knew her to honor her life and pray for the repose of her soul by attending her funeral Mass.” A memorial Mass for those who cannot attend the funeral will be offered Oct. 20 at St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Church in Fredericksburg at 6 p.m.
Another memorial Mass will be offered Oct. 21 at the Oblate Sisters of St. Francis de Sales Cemetery, 399 Childs Rd., Childs, Md, 11 a.m.
Donations in memory of her may be made to the Oblate Sisters, 399 Childs Rd., Childs, Md., 21916.
