Born Feb. 22, 1890, in West Louisville, Ky., to Henry and Matilda Mattingly Burch, baby Blanche was the miracle baby. On March 27, 1890, when Blanche was only five weeks old, a tornado wrecked West Louisville. Blanche was blown about a fourth of a mile from her home. In the midst of the destruction, she was found asleep, unharmed, under a piece of tin roofing which the wind had arched against a fence near a pond.
When Blanche was old enough for school, she was sent to Mount Saint Joseph Academy. She received her First Holy Communion and was confirmed in the convent chapel. She completed high school in the Academy, and entered the novitiate. She received the Ursuline habit and the name Sister Henrietta on October 21, 1907.
Sister Henrietta spent the 11 years of her religious life at Mount Saint Joseph Academy where she was the general disciplinarian. Each student felt loved by Sister Henrietta. They claimed her as friend and confidant. Sister often accompanied Mother Aloysius Willett on canonical visits to the Sisters on the missions.
In the early spring of 1917, Sister Henrietta became a patient in the infirmary, confined to bed a greater part of the time. She suffered intensely for over a year and died on May 13, 1918. Following the funeral Mass, Sister’s remains were laid to rest in the convent cemetery.