Lula was the second of four children, born Dec. 30, 1911, in McQuady, Ky., to Samuel Anselm and Mary Jessie Carol Ryan Beavin. There were two sisters and a brother — Mary Mabel, Martha Alberta and Samuel Thomas. Lula began her faith journey with baptism by Father John F. Knue, pastor of St. Mary of the Woods.
Lula attended the McQuady public school for four years. When the Dominicans opened a school at McQuady she attended there until she completed the tenth grade. When grades eleven and twelve were discontinued at McQuady, Lula and her sister Mabel came to Mount Saint Joseph Academy. Both Lula and Mabel felt called to become an Ursuline. Together, they entered the novitiate. On March 19, 1931, they received the Ursuline habit. Lula received the name Sister Mary Anselm and Mabel received the name Sister Mary Concepta.
For almost 50 years, Sister Mary Anselm taught in both elementary and high school. She began teaching at Flaherty (Ky.) Public School in 1933 for two years. She spent two years at Paul, Neb., came to New Haven, Ky., for two years and returned to Nebraska, again at Paul, for four years. She came back to Kentucky to spend three years at Fredericktown. She was then missioned to Affton, Mo., for 12 years. She came back to Kentucky and taught again at Flaherty from 1968 to 1974. She was off duty at Central City for one year in 1974-1975, then spent three months in 1975 teaching at Stanley. She was assigned as substitute at Holy Cross.
In 1977, Sister Mary Anselm came back to Mount Saint Joseph and assisted in the community library in St. Ursula Hall. In the late 1980s, she retired. Death came to her in Mount Saint Joseph Infirmary, October 24, 1994.
The wake service was held October 26, 1994, with the funeral liturgy the following afternoon. Father Anthony Shonis, in his funeral homily spoke of Sister Mary Anselm’s life, comparing her to a maple tree, with roots down deep, and open to the Lord. The eight remaining members of her class, Sisters Jean Claire Ballard, Charles Irene Hayden, Mary Ann Krampe, Blanche Rita Bickett, Jamesina Spain, Margaret Ann Cargile, Dorothy Ann Whelan, and Mary Beatrice Donahue praised Sister Mary Anselm’s dedication and faithfulness. On October 26, Father Anthony Shonis celebrated the funeral Mass. Sister Mary Anselm’s remains are buried in the convent cemetery. Her Ursuline sister, Sister Mary Concepta, preceded her in death.