By Rebecca Goodman
The Cincinnati Enquirer

READING - Although Sister of Notre Dame Rose Agnes Koetter was a business teacher for more than 40 years, she wasn't all business.

After work she relaxed by drinking beer and eating limburger cheese (her favorite) while watching the Reds play.

Sister Rose Agnes, a Sister of Notre Dame de Namur for 75 years, died at Mount Notre Dame Convent's health center here on May 16. She was 96.

Born in Cincinnati, she was a west-sider of German heritage. She graduated from the old St. Xavier Commercial High School - a two-year institution that taught secretarial skills to women.

Because it turned out such well-trained workers, "it was very highly thought of by the business community," said Sister Mary Ann Barnhorn.

Sister Rose Agnes became a business teacher there and trained hundreds of young women to be office workers.

Before the 20th century, the office was the domain of men. Aspiring businessmen usually started out as office clerks. But with late-19th century mechanization came the devaluation of clerical work, and the delegation of it to women.

St. Xavier Commercial High opened in 1904, when this transition was taking place and young women were glad to trade domestic and factory work for clerical positions.

By 1930 almost all office workers were female. And they learned their skills in high school classes taught by the likes of Sister Rose Agnes. The school closed in 1959, not long before feminists began to decry the low wages and lack of management opportunities of "pink collar workers."

Even though the era of the manual typewriter and mimeograph machine has gone by the wayside, Sister Rose was still adept at repairing them. Just a few weeks before she died, she was able to troubleshoot and fix a broken typewriter that other retired business teachers couldn't repair.

Sister Rose Agnes took an interest in her students.

"She would always tell us she was praying for us daily," said Diane Rettig of Colerain Township, a former student. "Anytime we were having a problem, she would make sure she gave us a medal of the Blessed Mother, and that seemed to help us."

Sister Rose Agnes also taught at schools in Dayton, Ohio; Columbus; and Chicago. Later, she cared for the grotto at Mount Notre Dame that serves as a prayerful spot for many Reading residents.

Survivors include a sister, Ann Koetter of Westwood; and nieces and nephews.

Services were held. Interment was at the convent cemetery. Memorials: Sisters of Notre Dame Retirement Fund, 701 E. Columbia Ave., Reading, OH 45215.

E-mail rgoodman@enquirer.com