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She was born Jan. 5, 1944, in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., to Chester and Elizabeth Kockel Galazin, the eldest of three children.
A 1961 graduate of St. Vincent de Paul High School in Plymouth, Pa., Sister Sandra earned a B.A. in English and history at Misericordia College in Dallas, Pa., in 1965, then taught at Woodbridge (N.J.) Junior High School before entering Maryknoll Sisters Sept. 7, 1968.
In 1969, Sister Sandra was assigned to the Diocese of Honolulu, where she would serve for most of her 47 years with Maryknoll. After a year of teaching language arts in Punahou, Hawaii, Sister Sandra focused her ministry upon her commitment to action for peace and justice. She began by working at Pastoral Counseling Service in Honolulu.
She then joined the staff of Susannah Wesley Community Center, a social services organization dedicated to helping and empowering, youth, adults and families who have great socio-economic challenges. She coordinated the Hui Kokua, a program of skill building and leisure activities for clients from 1973-75. In1975, Sister Sandra joined the staff of Catholic Social Services, where she was a caseworker and coordinator for Operation Aloha, a program for resettlement of refugees from Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos until 1976.
In 1985, Sister Sandra returned to Maryknoll Sisters Center.
In 1994, she returned to Hawaii, where she earned an M.S.W. at the University of Hawaii.
For the last three years, she did case management work and counseling outreach in parishes and the diocese. She returned to the Maryknoll Sisters Center in 2012.
Sister Sandra is survived by her sister, Nancy Orlowski of Harrisburg, Pa; and her brother, John Galazin, of Brooklyn. She has donated her body to the New York Medical School.
A vespers service will be conducted at 4:15 p.m.Friday, Oct. 30 in the Chapel of the Annunciation at the Maryknoll Sisters Center at Maryknoll. A memorial Mass will follow at 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 31 also at the center.
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