Sister Anne Gaffigan, CSJ

A funeral Mass was offered Sept. 12 in the chapel of St. Joseph’s Provincial House, Latham, for Sister Anne Gaffigan, who died Sept. 4. She was 85 and had been a Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet for 65 years.

A native of Hudson, she worked for two years as a clerk and apprentice pharmacist at Albert’s Drugs in Schenectady before entering religious life. For her first 15 years as a sister, she taught in Binghamton and at St. Joseph’s School in Troy and St. Francis de Sales School in Herkimer; at the latter, she also was the principal. During the next 12 years, she served as a special education teacher at the School for the Disabled (the Center for Disabilities Services/Kevin G. Langan School). For the past 37 years, she was purchasing coordinator for the Sisters of St. Joseph.

Her religious order used a host of adjectives to describe Sister Anne’s positive attributes: “no-fuss-no-frills,” “determined,” “strong of mind and large of heart,” “organized, capable, affirming, challenging and compassionate,” “strategic, loyal, knowledgeable and proactive,” “patient” and “creative.” Her sense of humor and deep faith will be missed by her family and friends.

Survivors include three brothers, John, Joseph and Rev. William (a retired priest of the Albany Diocese). Interment was in Our Lady Queen of Virgins Cemetery, Latham.