Sister Sally A. "Sally" Villa SSJ

Sister Sally (Sarah) A. Villa, SSJ, age 81, of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Northwestern Pennsylvania, died on November 17, 2025, in the 38th year of her religious life. She was born in Rochester, New York, on July 19, 1944, the daughter of the late Donald A. and Marion Kraft Gillette.

She graduated from Livonia High School in Rochester in 1961 and received her nursing education at Craig Colony Hospital School of Nursing, Sonyea, New York, and earned an AAS nursing degree from Alfred State College, in Alfred, New York, in 1976.

As a young girl, she didn't have dreams of becoming a Sister but was aware that God was gently drawing her in a direction that led to baptism and, later, confirmation. She married and raised four children before an illness brought her to Erie in 1981. She recalls it being a lonely, but growth-filled, time during which she came to know the Sisters of St. Joseph. She made a parish retreat, began spiritual direction, and in 1984 attended a three-week retreat experience at Stella Niagara, a retreat center of the Franciscan Sisters. She was aware that God was calling her to go deeper, to become a part of a community. Separated at the time, she inquired about becoming an Associate with the Sisters of St. Joseph, which set her in the direction of pre-entrance formation. After a divorce and annulment, she entered the

Sisters of St. Joseph from St. Joseph Parish in 1988 and made her final profession in 1994. During her canonical years, she attended Villa Maria College, where she received a BSN in 1987 and later pursued graduate studies in pastoral ministry at Gannon University.

Sister Sally's ministries were always within the field of nursing, later focusing on the needs of patients nearing the end of their lives and their families. She ministered as a nurse at Saint Vincent Health Center, including in its Home Care/Hospice program, and then spent several years as a hospice nurse with Great Lakes Home Health Care. She also served for many years as a nurse and Sister companion for her congregation, the Sisters of St. Joseph.

She enjoyed the challenge of balancing her time between community, family, ministry, and her hobbies of sewing and photography. She felt privileged to be both a Sister of St. Joseph and a mother and grandmother.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her grandparents, an infant granddaughter, Alyssa Barton, her oldest son, Alfred M. Villa, and her brother, John. She is survived by a son, Ben Villa (Brenda), Bradenton, FL; two daughters, Christine Villa Barton (Stafford), Hewitt, NJ, and Donnell Villa Ayers (Joe), Coudersport, PA; nine grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. The Sisters of St. Joseph of Northwestern Pennsylvania also survive her.

Friends are invited to call at the Sisters of St. Joseph Community Living Center, 5031 West Ridge Road, Erie, on Thursday, November 20, 2025, at 1:00 p.m. for prayer and a sharing of memories. Calling hours will continue until 3:45 p.m., followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 4:00 p.m. The Mass will be livestreamed on the Sisters of St. Joseph YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/user/SSJErie/live.

The interment will be at Calvary Cemetery.

Memorials may be made to the Sisters of St. Joseph Mission & Ministries

Foundation, 5031 West Ridge Road, Erie, PA, 16506-1249. The Kloecker Funeral Home is handling arrangements.