Sister Susan Buckley, OSF, died May 31, 2017, at Buffalo General Hospital. She was 82.

The former Anne Harriette Buckley was born Nov. 22, 1934, in Utica, to Maurice and Mary (Welch) Buckley. She joined the Congregation of the Franciscan Sisters of Allegany at St. Elizabeth Motherhouse in 1953 and professed final vows in 1960. She attended St. Elizabeth Teachers' College in Allegany, now St. Bonaventure University, receiving a bachelor's degree in education in 1970 and a master's degree in theology in 1981. 

Early in her ministry, Sister Susan taught at schools in Florida and New Jersey. In 1963, she returned home to Allegany to live a life of contemplation and prayer in the Franciscan Ritiro for two decades.

From 1982-1986, Sister Susan served as a novice formation director for the congregation. In 1987, she received her chaplaincy certification and served as a chaplain at Mercy Hospital in Buffalo. Sister Susan retired in 2003, but continued to assist with spiritual direction, retreats and afterschool programs.

Sister Susan is survived by two brothers, Dennis and Joseph; two sisters, Maureen Bellardini and Mary Helen Kunkel; and many nieces and nephews.

A funeral Mass was held in the chapel of St. Elizabeth Motherhouse, with burial in St. Bonaventure Cemetery, also in Allegany.