Susan Pye was born on January 11, 1934 in Montreal, to Mary Bannerman and John Pye. She was one of five girls, with a twin sister. She received her elementary education at St. Raphael’s School in Outremont and her secondary education at St. Madeleine’s Academy run by the Holy Cross Sisters. After graduating from high school, she attended Notre Dame Secretarial School. She then worked for a couple of years in downtown Montreal at both the Aluminum Company of Canada and an Insurance Broker’s Office.
Her desire to be a nurse was fulfilled when she was accepted in the nursing program at St. Mary’s Hospital in 1953. After graduating in 1956 she travelled to the west coast with her older sister. She worked at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver in pediatrics for one year. Then she and some friends with whom she worked travelled to Hawaii where she accepted a position in Kapiolani Hospital. After one year she returned to Montreal. A few months later in response to a felt call to religious life, she entered the Sisters of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul in February of 1962.
In 1964 she was missioned to St. Vincent de Paul Hospital in Brockville as Supervisor on the Maternity ward and helped with the teaching program for Registered Nursing Assistants. In 1966 she was transferred to Montreal where she worked in Emergency, Surgery, Medicine and the ICU and at the same time through evening courses she qualified to enter the Bachelor of Nursing in Public Health program at McGill University graduating in 1973. She was then transferred to St. Mary’s Hospital in Camrose, Alberta as head nurse of a forty-eight bed Medical Unit. After three years she was transferred to Providence Hospital in Moose Jaw, SK for one year before returning to St. Vincent de Paul Hospital in Brockville as Director of Nursing. During her fourteen years in Brockville, she attended evening classes at St. Lawrence College where she completed her Diploma in Gerontology in 1990. She retired from St. Vincent’s in 1991.
After fourteen years in Administration, she took a sabbatical program at Boston College for one year. With the sabbatical group she went to Israel and Rome. The following year she attended St. Paul University and completed two units of Clinical Pastoral Education program and audited a few theology courses. She was then missioned to Holy Family Hospital in Vancouver in 1993 as Director of Pastoral Care. In the evenings she took some theology courses at St. Mark’s College run by the Basilian Fathers.
She returned to Kingston in December 2000 and had surgery for breast cancer and radiation therapy. After six months she returned to Vancouver to close her apartment and prepared to return to Kingston. When she returned to Kingston in September 2001, she was chosen by ballot to go to Rome with three other Sisters for the Beatification of Mother Emily Gamelin. She became involved with a number of congregational committees as well as volunteer work in the Kingston community until 2006 when she was appointed coordinator of the infirmary.
With deteriorating health, Susan moved to the infirmary where she went home peacefully to her loving God on May 7, 2025.
As a young person she loved to play tennis and later enjoyed watching tennis matches on television. With a keen interest in politics and the news she regularly watched CNN and The Agenda on television. Her interest in social issues led her to write letters to politicians and to support the ‘Save the Prison Farms’ initiative.
Sister Susan had lots of love for her family and she was an important part of their lives. She was fun loving and adventurous. The congregation and her many friends were very important to her.
Several of her nieces and nephews attended the Vigil Service and Funeral Mass.
The Mass of Christian Burial, held in the Chapel of Mary, Mother of Compassion, Providence Motherhouse on May 21, 2025 was presided over by Msgr. Joseph Lynch who also delivered the homily. Burial was at St. Mary’s Cemetery, Kingston.