Sister Mary Manuela Souto, of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, St. Louis Province, died April 19. She was 83.

The daughter of Manuel Gonzales and Viola Souto, she was born in Mobile, Ala., on Feb. 9, 1926, and entered the Sisters of St. Joseph in 1946, making her final profession on Aug. 15, 1951. At her death, she had been a sister for 63 years.

She began teaching in 1948 as a primary school teacher and earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Fontbonne College, St. Louis, in 1960. Over her long career, she worked as a first-grade teacher in Catholic schools in Champagne and Chicago, Ill., and then in Mobile, Ala., before coming to the Atlanta Archdiocese where she lived about 30 years. Beginning in 1970, she taught at St. Anthony School, Atlanta, moving to St. Joseph School, Marietta, in 1971, where she continued to teach for the next decade. She later started their after-school program, as well as working at Brumby Elementary School, Marietta, before retiring in 1997.

According to a 2006 Georgia Bulletin article, Sister Souto enjoyed fishing and birdwatching during her retirement.

The funeral Mass for Sister Souto was celebrated on April 24 at St. Joseph Church.

Survivors include Sister Anne Souto, CSJ, her sister, of St. Louis and brother and sister-in-law Jack and Grace Souto of Eatonton.