Little Sisters of the Poor-Cincinnati have named the Humanitarians and Volunteers of the Year

Mary Rahrig and the late Luke Rahrig

Cincinnati, Ohio – The Little Sisters of the Poor-Cincinnati have named the Humanitarians of the Year, Mary Rahrig and the late Luke Rahrig, and the Volunteers of the Year, Katy Riehle and her sister Nancy Bohlander.

They will be honored at the fourth annual Little Sisters of the Poor Legacy Dinner on April 2 at The View in Mt. Adams, Cincinnati’s newest restaurant with a panorama vista of the night skyline.

Mary and Luke are a love story. A civil engineer, Mr. Rahrig was serving in the military during the war. Introduced to each other by mail, Mary sent Luke a letter a day. On leave for three days, they married. He shared his wedding cake with other soldiers on the way to deployment in Newport News, VA. That spirit of love and caring resulted in seventy-five years of marriage and seven children. Mary and Luke have been very generous and supportive of caring for the elderly poor through the work of the Little Sisters of the Poor; they have been named the Humanitarians of the Year.

Sisters by birth, Katy Riehle and Nancy Bohlander began their “Donut Ministry” about five years ago.They come weekly to create and distribute bakery to the floors for Residents. They became year-round Christmas Boutique volunteers about four years ago. “We buy materials, make creations, display items, sell gifts and pack away” crafts every year for the November Christmas Boutique.  

“Being with the Residents,” they each agreed, “is a pleasure and a joy.” Their husbands help with some of the crafts. “It’s a family affair,” they said.