The daughter of James and Alice Askins Beavin, Susan Aubrey was born Sept. 28, 1898, in Glen Dean, Ky., one of seven children. Following her schooling at Cloverport, Susan worked at the Post Office there. She entered the novitiate at Mount Saint Joseph when she was nearly 25 years of age. After an eight-month postulancy, Susan received the Ursuline habit and the name Sister Isabel on March 19, 1924.
Sister Isabel spent four months of the 1925 school year teaching grade six in Nebraska City, Neb. She spent the school year 1926-1927 at St. Columba in Louisville. She returned to Nebraska for four years in 1928 and taught at Wynot, Nebraska City, and Bow Valley. She came back to Kentucky and taught at Calvary for four years, before being missioned to Glennonville, Mo., for eight years. During all these assignments she taught elementary grades five through eight. In 1944, she began teaching in Kentucky high schools: New Haven, Knottsville, Leitchfield and St. Francis. She was again assigned to grades 7 and 8, teaching at St. Charles Jr. High, Raywick, St. Francis, Peonia, New Mexico (Farmington), Louisville (St. Margaret Mary), Mayfield, Waverly, Rome, and Princeton.
Sister Isabel retired to Mount Saint Joseph in 1972. As long as health permitted, she worked diligently at projects for the annual picnic. On September 29, 1975, she was admitted to ICU in Daviess County Hospital. She lived only a few hours. Father Robert Wheatley, her great-nephew, was main celebrant and homilist for the funeral Mass on October 2. Msgr. Bernard Powers, chaplain, and Msgr. Edward Russell were in the sanctuary. Sister Isabel’s remains are buried in the convent cemetery.