'Unicycling nun' Sister Patricia Schoonover

She was far from what some might consider a typical nun, teaching hundreds of kids to ride the unicycle.

By NORMAN DRAPER, Star Tribune

Last update: September 4, 2008 - 8:42 PM

Sister Patricia Schoonover, "the unicycling nun," who taught unicycling for the St. Paul-based youth circus Circus Juventas, died of leukemia Aug. 27 at St. Joseph's Hospital in St. Paul. She was 70.

Schoonover, a Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet, was far from what some might consider a typical nun. Not only had she taught hundreds, perhaps thousands, of children to ride the unicycle since 1995, but she also worked as a nanny and adopted a son. According to a profile of Schoonover written by Star Tribune columnist Joe Kimball in 2002, three times a week Schoonover taught youngsters to ride the unicycle for Circus Juventas.

Schoonover found herself on a unicycle in a roundabout fashion: Her son, Justin Trupe, had a skin condition that prevented him from playing most sports, so Schoonover looked for a different activity for him, and they both ended up joining the Twin Cities Unicycling Club. Soon after that, Justin signed up for Circus Juventas.

"They didn't have a unicycle teacher, so by default, it was me," Schoonover told Kimball. "I can get up on one, but I never developed a lot of skill. ... I know the fine points and whether someone is doing it right."

"She was great; she absolutely had a passion for working with kids," said Dan Butler, co-founder and CEO of Circus Juventas.

Plus, Butler said, Schoonover had a hand in the founding of Circus Juventas because she worked as nanny for his children while he was getting the circus off the ground.

"We didn't have any family in town, and it would have been impossible; no way we could have done what we needed to do without somebody who loved our youngest kids like her own and became their second mother," he said. "She went on vacations with us and was always a part of everything we did."

Schoonover was also a registered nurse and most recently was health plan coordinator for the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet.

Schoonover was born and raised in South Dakota. After earning her nursing degree, she joined the Sisters of St. Benedict, where she stayed through the 1960s. She left the convent to teach nursing, then joined the St. Joseph sisters in 1977.

Services were held Aug. 30.

Norman Draper • 612-673-4547

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