Ossining, N.Y., July 17, 2026 ── Sister Roseann Hanley, M.M., a Maryknoll Sister of 76 years known for her love of the arts and dedicated service to youth, died on July 6, 2026. She was 98.

Sr. Roseann was born in Richmond Hill, Va., on June 23, 1928, to Joseph T. and Agnes O’Hare Hanley. She is predeceased by two sisters, Joan and Agnes, and one brother, Joseph.

Sr. Roseann graduated from Richmond Hill High School in 1947, and attended an eight-month course at Delehanty Business School in Jamaica, Queens. She then worked at the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company in New York, N.Y., for two and a half years, before entering the Maryknoll Sisters Congregation on Sept. 6, 1950. Sr. Roseann made her first vows on March 7, 1953, and final vows on March 7,1959.

In 1958, Sr. Roseann received her Bachelor of Education from the Maryknoll Teachers College in Maryknoll, N.Y. That same year, she was assigned to Hawaii and taught second grade at St. Michael’s School in Waialua until 1963. In her next assignment Sr. Roseann was called to Chile for the next 43 years. After studying language in Pucon and a year of pastoral work in San Alberto Parish of Santiago, she began service as a member of the parish pastoral team in Licanten until 1983. Sr. Roseann returned to the Maryknoll Sisters Center in Ossining, N.Y., to serve on the Congregational Leadership Team, work in the Treasury Department and as supervisor of the mail desk from 1984 until 1987.

Returning to Chile at this time, Sr. Roseann resumed her pastoral work in the town of Rauco until 2003 followed by three more years of pastoral service in Curico, until 2006.

Throughout her decades of service, Sr. Roseann found joy in collaborating with lay missioners and youth in many ways. Talented in art and music, she led craft workshops, formed church choral groups and once led a mixed group of Boy and Girl Scouts. She also created artwork and ceramic pieces that are still displayed in places throughout the Center today.

Sr. Roseann returned to the Center in 2006 and remained an active retiree in service to her Sister community, including a term as part of the Coordinators’ Team, until her passing. The Maryknoll Sisters would like to thank Sr. Roseann for her decades of dedicated service to our One Earth Community.

A wake for Sr. Roseann was held on July 15, 2026, in the Annunciation Chapel of the Maryknoll Sisters Center in Ossining, N.Y. A memorial Mass was said for Sr. Roseann on July 16, 2026, also in the Annunciation Chapel.