Rev. Catherine "Cathy" Rieley-Goddard

Be silly.
Be honest.
Be kind.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

A life of service and silliness is laid to rest. Rev. Cathy (Catherine) Rieley-Goddard dove heart-first through life, just as she dived through every obstacle in the muddy Warrior Dash 5K races she loved.

From 5Ks to the Camino de Santiago, Cathy walked and ran for cause. In January 2007, she ran the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s half marathon at Disney World in memory of her dad. Later, she received the Golden Sneaker award for most donations raised online for the 2013 Grand Island CROP Walk, an annual fundraiser for worldwide hunger relief. She also supported causes through her love of shopping, seeking out companies and products, especially clothes, that supported fair trade and sustainable practices.

Cathy brought laughter and joy to the hearts of those around her from the day she was born on June 14, 1961, the third child of Ollie and Betty Rieley. Her wide, open-mouthed smile and hearty chuckle lit up the room wherever she went: at home, youth group, seminary, her office and pulpit, on the racecourse….

Growing up in a musical family, Cathy was an accomplished cellist. She played in the Three Rivers Young Peoples Orchestra and then the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony, earning invitations to join a national touring youth orchestra and the resident orchestra at the Bay View Music Festival in Michigan. After graduating from Beth Park High School in 1979, she earned a BS in psychology from Florida State with a minor in music. When her nephew chose the cello, she graciously shared her instrument with him for many years until he was able to purchase his own.

Cathy married Jon Goddard on September 14, 1989, at Hiland Church, Pittsburgh, PA. They then graduated together from Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary in 1991 and proceeded through the rest of their joint lives together. Cathy and Jon shared the ministry of Riverside Salem United Church of Christ on Grand Island, NY, where among many projects that they shepherded was the straw-bale build at Riverside’s Environmental Cottage. Though Cathy and Jon never had children, they supported the young people around them in valuable ways…encouraging passions and dreams and providing a second home or safe place for young adults to find their feet.

For 30 years, Cathy served many communities in Western New York through her ministry. Over the years, she served as pastor to West Avenue Presbyterian Church, Buffalo Korean Church, South Wales Presbyterian Church, Griffins Mills Presbyterian Church, Westfield Presbyterian Church, and Wayside Presbyterian Church; and most recently to Island Presbyterian Church, Riverside Salem United Church of Christ, First Presbyterian Church Niagara Falls, and First Presbyterian Church, Lewiston. In addition, she served from 1998 to 2016 as executive director at Concerned Ecumenical Ministry, a multi-denominational community services agency providing support for food, shelter, and more to residents in the Buffalo region. She was also co-founder of The Hyphen Sisters and Three Chicks Ministries with close colleagues and friends, Rev. Laura Norris-Buisch and Mary-Diana Pouli.

Beyond Buffalo, she was pastor of the week for Presbyterian House one year and hosted tea at the UCC House for several years, both at Chautauqua. She preached in Taiwan with the Shadyside (Pittsburgh) Presbyterian Church Choir Tour and was afterwards invited to guest preach at Shadyside.

When the going got tough, Cathy got going. She supported Jon through his long and difficult battle with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. When COVID shut the world down, Cathy instigated a weekly family zoom call that brought her mother and siblings scattered across the Northeast closer together than ever. She also was a much beloved member of a virtual group with long separated seminary friends.

Cathy never stopped being silly, honest, and kind. Even after her glioblastoma diagnosis in September 2023, she served her congregation for as long as her health permitted and then continued to support causes, family, and friends. Weeks before her death, she was playing poker with her mother and sisters and messing with the betting rules to simultaneously assert her independence and silliness in the classic Cathy way.

On August 9, 2025, Cathy joined her father, Ollie (Oliver) Rieley, and her beloved husband, Jon Rieley-Goddard. Her memory is cherished by her mother, Betty Jo Rieley; her sisters, Laura Ristau and Jen Cohen (husband, Barry Cohen); her brother, Tom Rieley (wife, Yong Rieley); her nephew, Benjamin Ristau, and nieces, Patricia Ann Reed, Jane Tallman-Montano, Carolyn Ristau, Katie Rieley, Sam Cohen, and Lena Cohen; and her many friends.

A memorial service will be held at the First Presbyterian Church, Lewiston, NY, on November 1, 2025, at 11 AM.

The family would like to thank Bridges Hospice and Brookdale, Penn Hills, for the loving care they provided for Cathy.

Gifts in memory of Cathy are welcome at CROP Hunger Walk. CROP Hunger Walks are community-wide events sponsored by Church World Service and organized by local congregations or groups to raise funds to end hunger in the U.S. and around the world. Donations may be made at https://events.crophungerwalk.org/crophungerwalks and click on Donation.

Arrangements by the Weddell-Ajak Funeral Home, Aspinwall.