S. Eileen Neville OSB

S. Eileen Neville OSB, 95, died on Monday, January 26, 2026. A wake service will be held at 7:00 PM, on Friday, January 30, 2026 and the Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Saturday, January 31, at 10:00 AM, both in Bishop Marty Memorial Chapel in Yankton. Burial will be in the monastery cemetery. Arrangements are under the direction of the Wintz & Ray Funeral Home and Cremation Service in Yankton.

Mary Marjory was born on July 11, 1930, the oldest of six children, and the only daughter of William and Irene Neville of York, Nebraska. She attended a one-room rural school and St. Joseph High School in York. Her academic learning continued at Mount Marty College, Yankton, South Dakota, beginning in 1948. She entered Sacred Heart Monastery on September 5, 1949, was invested as a novice on June 28, 1950, and received the name Eileen. She made first profession on June 29, 1951, and perpetual profession on June 29, 1954. She later received her Master's and Doctorate degrees in English from St. Louis University (1954-1957).

S. Eileen spent her professional life in the world of academia, teaching French and English at Mount Marty. Her post-doctoral work expanded her knowledge of different cultural aspects of the written word. She pushed her students to hone their writing skills and expand their world views through literature.

S. Eileen was involved with various organizations such as the Foreign Study League, the Yankton Inter-Tribal Council, the South Dakota Council of Humanities, Sigma Tau Delta, and American Benedictine Academy. She received the Distinguished Service to Humanities Award (1985), the Association for Religion and Intellectual Life’s Faculty Research Award (1991), the Professor of the Year designation by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (1993), and the Honored for Service Award given by Sigma Tau Delta (1997).

S. Eileen lived a simple life with a genuine concern for the education of disadvantaged youth. As an avid reader and writer, she applied these skills to curriculum development, Monastery public relations, and editing documents for the Monastery and the Congregation of St. Gertrude. Her intellectual pursuits called her to a deeper understanding of her private spiritual philosophy of life, which was often reflected in her teaching. Working with families from other countries, such as Vietnam and Ethiopia, was a personal highlight of her life.

S. Eileen is survived by her Benedictine community, her sister-in-law Anita, and several nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents and her brothers: William, John Eugene, and Donald.