Sister Laura Garges died Jan. 3, 2016, at Stella Niagara Health Center in Stella Niagara. She was 97.

The former Rosalie Garges was born Aug. 17, 1918, in Skelton, W.Va., the daughter of John and Amelia (Kubacki) Garges. Sister Laura joined the Sisters of St. Francis of Penance and Christian Charity in Stella Niagara in 1937 and professed perpetual vows in 1942.

Early in her ministry, she served in the dining room of the order at Stella Niagara and, from 1969-80, she served in the cafeteria and provided general assistance at Sacred Heart Academy in Eggertsville.

Outside of the Diocese of Buffalo, Sister Laura also served in the Diocese of Columbus, Ohio, at St. Charles Seminary and St. Therese Shrine in Columbus and St. Aloysius Academy in New Lexington, serving mostly in the institutions' dining rooms and completing domestic work. In the Diocese of Trenton, N.J., she served in parish ministry from 1980-98 at St. Mary Parish in New Monmouth.

Sister Laura retired to Stella Niagara in 1998 and became a resident of the Stella Niagara Health Center in 2011.

She is survived by nieces, nephews and their families.

A funeral Mass was held in the sisters' chapel in Stella Niagara, with burial in Stella Niagara Cemetery.