Aston, PA—Sister Florence Lorraine Petsch, OSF, 94, died in Assisi House on June 4, 2026. She had been a professed member of the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia for 44 years. Born in Fort Washakie, Wyoming, she graduated from Fremont County Vocational High School and attended Central Wyoming College. She was a Shoshone Tribal member from the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming. After being married and raising a family, she was widowed at a young age. Following a period of discernment, she pursued her call to religious life, entering the congregation in 1979 at the age of 48 and professing her first vows in 1982. She ministered primarily in pastoral care.

Sister Florence began her life of ministry in Washington state, first in the Diocese of Spokane at St. Anne’s Infant Home for about a year before serving in the Archdiocese of Seattle for two years, ministering as a chaplain at St. Joseph Hospital in Tacoma, Washington.

In Oregon, Sister Florence served for seven years in the Diocese of Baker at St. Elizabeth Community Hospital as a chaplain and volunteer hospice support.

Sister Florence then spent one year in in the Archdiocese of St. Louis, Missouri, ministering as a therapist intern at Queen of Peace Women’s Recovery Center while taking classes at St. Louis University.

After ministering for almost two decades in various states, Sister Florence returned to her Wyoming roots in 1990 to serve as a parish outreach minister and house coordinator at St. Stephen’s Indian Mission in the Diocese of Cheyenne. In 2015, Sister Florence moved to St. Ann’s Convent in Tacoma, Washington, to serve in prayer and hospitality ministry for three years until moving to Assisi House, the congregational retirement home in Aston, Pennsylvania, to continue her prayer and hospitality ministry until her death.

All services will be held in Assisi House on Friday, June 12, 2026, and will be livestreamed. A Christian Wake Service will be held at 9:30 A.M., with Mass of Christian Burial at 11 A.M. Internment of Ashes will be privately held at a later date. Sister Florence is survived by her siblings Leo Lajeunesse, Ellen Giles, Katherine Silvia, and Gail Washakie; her daughter, Martha McCoy (Gayle); her granddaughter Dawn Wofford (Shawn); her grandson Daniel; her great-grandchildren Ella, Reina, Eva, and Daniel; and her Franciscan family. Donations in her name can be made to the Sisters of St. Francis Foundation, 609 S. Convent Road, Aston, PA 19014.

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Read a more personal write-up on Sister Florence. Read

The livestream will begin on Friday, June 12 at 9:30 A.M. View