The daughter of Joseph and Agnes Goete Leake, Mercedes was born October 23, 1909, in Raywick, Ky. When 16 years of age, she entered the novitiate at Mount Saint Joseph. Following a six-month postulancy, Mercedes received the Ursuline habit and the name Sister Mercedes Ann on March 19, 1927.
In 1931, Sister Mercedes Ann was assigned to St. Bernard Academy at Nebraska City, Neb., where she remained for 11 years as housekeeper for the Sisters and boarders. From 1942 to 1946, she resided at St. Mary Home in Owensboro and served as housekeeper to Bishop Francis R. Cotton. Following that assignment, Sister Mercedes Ann served as kitchen supervisor at Mount Saint Joseph until 1951. She was then missioned to St Catherine, New Haven, Ky. In 1953, she began teaching grades one and two at Rosary Chapel in Paducah, Ky., where she remained for seven years. She then taught at Fairfield, Ky., for four years. In 1964, Sister was given special permission by Bishop Henry J. Soenneker to go home to Raywick and care for her invalid parents. Following her father’s death in 1965, her mother was placed in a nursing home, and Sister Mercedes Ann returned to teaching at St. Rose in Cloverport, Ky. Her last teaching assignment was St. Anthony School in Axtel, Ky., in 1968.
October 7, 1969, Sister Mercedes Ann and her companion were in a car accident while on their way from Axtel to attend the funeral of Sister Consolata Stallings. From injuries received in the crash, Sister Mercedes Ann was hospitalized in Mercy Hospital in Owensboro. She lingered four days and died on October 11, twelve days before her 60th birthday. Her funeral Mass was celebrated by Msgr. Albert Thompson, who preached the sermon, and Father Philip Riney. Nine priests were in the sanctuary. Sister Mercedes Ann’s remains are buried in the convent cemetery.