Br. Leo Rotter (1902-1987)

Brother Leo will long be remembered at St. Benedict’s Abbey.  He was a character among a host of characters.  He was born in Grafton, Neb., grew up farming there and completed his education in a rural school near there.  He went to Chicago in 1927 and sought to enter the Alexian brothers.  He served two and one half years as a nurse but withdrew from the novitiate for health reasons.  He came to Atchison in 1932 and made his simple profession April 3, 1934, and simple perpetual vows on the same date in 1937. 

His working monastic life was spent on the abbey farms.  For 13 years he was a truck driver and beginning in 1947 began raising crops and tending cattle.  His last job was that of a carpenter’s helper.  He was devoted to the monastic horarium and was always eager to serve as many Masses as possible!

To say that Brother Leo was a colorful character is an understatement.   A favorite expression was, “Judas, that’s embarrassing.”  This expression, no doubt, was used when in an attempt to dynamite a stump he caused the stump to fly high and come down on a set of power lines thus knocking out the electricity on the whole college campus.  Brother Leo drove a favorite, well-worn Jeep from the abbey to the farm.  He loved a party and never missed Haustus.

His vocabulary was huge and he could weave words into an intricate pattern that made one want to rush for a dictionary.  He once characterized a quandary as a mystery wrapped in an enigma.  His wardrobe was inimitable.  Brother Leo, his exploits, his sayings, and his foibles will live forever in the memories of so many monks.

Br. Leo Rotter passed away April 13, 1987.