Esther M. Horan Rae

May 8, 1933 – May 15, 2025

Esther Rae, a devoted mother and grandmother who organized efforts in support of peace, justice, and women’s rights, passed away May 15, 2025, in Bethesda, Maryland. She was 92.

Born the seventh of 10 children in Buffalo, New York, she was a generous, loving and spirited presence in her large extended family. She was also a committed advocate for positive change within her community and church.

In 1981, she founded the Buffalo Affiliate of the Women’s Action for Nuclear Disarmament (WAND), serving as the affiliate’s President from 1982 to 1986 and a board member for the national organization from 1984 to 1987. She was also active with the Center for Justice and the Western New York Peace Center. During the 1990s, she chaired the Diocese of Buffalo’s Commission on the Concerns of Women in Church and Society, focusing on issues including social and economic justice, family violence, women’s leadership development, and feminine spirituality. From 1988 to 1993, she was a partner in a small business, Skirting Buffalo.

Her advocacy maintained a hopeful, pragmatic quality that focused on long term progress.

“One of the problems encountered in addressing issues of social justice such as the racism, violence, and sexism in our culture is that the effects of your work are not immediately evident, neither to you nor to others,” she wrote in a January 1994, column in Western New York Catholic. Citing John’s Gospel, she wrote, “As we sow seeds of change in our time, we are able to do so because we are reaping the harvest of those faithful ones who planted seeds in their time. We are likewise called to be faithful to the future.”

Feeling that women have held a special role as peacemakers, she supported WAND in organizing celebrations of Mother’s Day as a day of peace, and rallies across New York and in Washington, D.C.

Over the years she was involved with the Erie County Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the Amherst Women’s Task Force Against Domestic Violence, and the New York State Catholic Conference Advisory Committee on Women’s Issues, and the Diocese of Buffalo Domestic Violence Awareness Task Force. She received the Women Helping Women Award from the National Organization of Women (NOW), Buffalo, in 1984; the Mount St. Joseph Academy Alumni Award in 1985, and Trocaire College’s Catherine McAuley Award in 1994.

One of the reasons she remained a hopeful advocate, she said, was the support from her husband and family.

Born in Buffalo May 8, 1933, to John J. and Esther Christ Horan, she graduated from Mount Saint Joseph Academy in 1950 and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Rosary Hill College in 1954. After graduating she worked at Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory. It was there that she met her husband, William Rae, and their long life together took flight. They married in 1957 and lived for many years in Snyder before their move to Maryland in 2016. Her husband passed away in 2020.

She is survived by her four children, Barbara (Brian Kelleher), Michael (Tamar Henkin), Matthew (Honey Rae) and Leah; and three grandchildren, Alexander Rae, Andrew Rae and Eleanor Rae Kelleher. She is also survived by a sister, Sister Barbara Horan, SSJ, two brothers, Michael P. (Karen) Horan and David C. (Linda) Horan, her sister-in-law Sally A. Horan, Teresa Decot, and dozens of nephews and nieces.

She was predeceased by brothers and sisters Mary F. (Marshall) Roach, John J. Horan, Anne M. (Francis) O’Connor, Aileen M. (Leo) Townsell, Paul G. Horan, and Patricia M. (Vincent Weppner) Creighton.

Family and friends are invited to attend a Mass of Christian Burial for Esther and William Rae Saturday, June 21, 10 a.m. at St. Joseph University Church, 3269 Main St., Buffalo, New York. A live stream will be available here: https://www.youtube.com/@StJosephUniversityParish

In lieu of flowers, donations in their memory may be made to the SSJ Sister Karen Klimczak Center for Nonviolence (sisterkarencenter.org) or the Sisters of St. Joseph, 4975 Strickler Road, Clarence, NY 14031(www.buffalossj.org).

Arrangements by PERNA, DENGLER, ROBERTS FUNERAL HOME. www.denglerrobertspernafuneral.com