Date of death: 4/9/2007
Saint Meinrad Class: O 1949
Father Luke Bohr, O.S.B., 86, a Benedictine monk of Marmion Abbey, Aurora, died peacefully in the Lord.Father Luke was the youngest of eleven children born to Nicholas and Susan Kartheiser Bohr of Aurora. He is survived by the members of his Marmion monastic community, his brother Art (Marj) and sister Cecilia Diederich, his sister-in-law Rosemary Bohr, all of Aurora, as well as many nieces and nephews, including his nephew Father Kenneth Theisen, O.S.B., the Subprior of Marmion Abbey.He was preceded in death by his parents, his brothers Theodore, William, George, Bernard and Albert, and his sisters Elizabeth Frieders, Barbara Gartman and Marie Theisen.Father Luke was born on November 19, 1920, and was baptized Raymond Peter at St. Joseph Church, Aurora. He attended Marmion Academy for one year, then left home in 1935 at age 15 to study for the priesthood at Saint Meinrad Minor Seminary, St. Meinrad, IN. He entered Saint Meinrad Abbey in 1940 and professed his first vows as a Benedictine monk on August 6, 1941, taking the name Luke. In 1947 he transferred his vows to the new Marmion Abbey, becoming a founding member. He made solemn profession of vows on August 24, 1946. He was the first priest ordained for the new Marmion Abbey on May 8, 1948.After ordination Father Luke attended Catholic University, Washington, D.C., where he received an advanced degree in moral theology. He began his teaching career at Marmion Academy in 1949, where he taught Algebra for forty years. Other Academy duties included dormitory prefect, health officer and Commandant of Cadets for the resident students.Father Luke was appointed Junior Master, then Novice Master of Marmion Abbey in the mid-1960s. He was most noted as the Prior of Marmion Abbey and a member of the Abbey Council for twenty-one years from 1970 to 1991, serving in this capacity under three abbots.For most of his life Father Luke dealt with health challenges. He had an extended hospitalization for Tuberculosis in his early twenties. This delayed his profession of vows and ordination. In his later years Father suffered from severe breathing difficulties that finally required continual oxygen assistance.Information obtained from www.legacy.com on 4/11/2007.