Sister Audrey Tramp passed away Tuesday night after working at Creighton for 27 years. Tramp, a Benedictine nun, lost a battle to pneumonia at the Sacred Heart Monastery in Yankton, S.D., where she was retired.
Robert Skrydlak, assistant director of Estate and Trust Services on campus, said everyone who knew her will remember her.
“Sister Audrey really epitomized the Creighton credo of service to others,” he said. “She was intelligent, she had a quick wit and she was a joy to be around.”
He worked with her from 1997 until she retired in 2003. Before she assisted in alumni service, she was known for being the faithful assistant to The Rev. William F. Kelley, S.J., who was the vice president of the Creighton University Foundation.
“She was really just a Renaissance woman and a teacher until the end of her days,” Skrydlak said.
Sister Penny Bingham, assistant prioress of the Sacred Heart Monastery, said Tramp had a room full of Creighton mementos and loved the people on campus.
She was born in Beaver Creek, Neb. in 1918, and took her vows in 1940. She worked as a fifth and sixth grade teacher for 17 years in North and South Dakota before becoming a part of Creighton’s community.
“We are followers of the rule of Benedict and believe in a community-centered life, of seeking God together,” Bingham said. “Sister Audrey was a great part of her community at Creighton and at the monastery.”
The Rev. Tom Shanahan, S.J., said she had a lot of friends on campus, and was trusted by the faculty and staff. He met Sister Aubrey while they worked together with Alpha Sigma Nu, the service fraternity on campus.
“She was a very good lady, and knew almost everyone in Alpha Sigma Nu,” he said.
Carol Walsh, switchboard operator, said she knew Tramp for over 30 years.
The two of them worked for the Omaha Archdiocese before moving to Creighton. Tramp worked as a religious liason, placing people from different parishes in jobs.
As a Benedictine, she wanted to help people contribute to their commmunity by finding jobs or doing volunteer work.
“We’ve been friends for years,” she said. “She was always helping people. She taught me how to crochet.”
The funeral is scheduled this morning at the Sacred Heart Monastery in Yankton, S.D.