Sister Gertrude Fawls, OSF, formerly known as Sister Geraldine, died Feb. 24, 2017. She was 93.

She was born Oct. 23, 1923, in Buffalo, to E. Joseph and Agnes (Cronin) Fawls. She joined the Sisters of St. Francis of Penance and Christian Charity in Stella Niagara in 1941 and was professed in 1946.

Sister Gertrude received a bachelor's degree in education from Rosary Hill College, now Daemen College in Amherst, and a master's degree in education from the State University of New York at Buffalo. She went on to teach at diocesan schools in Western New York and elsewhere for decades.

She served at St. Joachim School, St. Michael School, and Daemen Children's Learning Center in Buffalo. She also taught at St. Benedict in Eggertsville, St. Joseph in Gowanda, St. Peter in Lewiston and at Stella Niagara Education Park in Stella Niagara. She also taught in New Jersey, Ohio and West Virginia.

In 1989, Sister Gertrude began serving as a sacristan at Stella Niagara Convent. She retired in 2005 and became a resident of the order's Stella Niagara Health Center in 2008.

She is survived by a brother, Robert Fawls; a nephew, Father Daniel J. Fawls, pastor of Holy Trinity Parish in Medina, and her siblings' families.

A funeral Mass was held in the sisters' chapel in Stella Niagara.