Barbara Ruth, one of 10 children of John Webb and Frances Beatrice Clark Donahue, was born June 14, 1903, at Holy Cross, Ky. She was baptized soon after birth. The baptism was solemnized at the parish church on June 27, 1903. The family lived on a large farm in Marion County. In June 1908, Barbara began her formal education at Glenwood School in Clarktown. When the Mount Saint Joseph Ursulines came to Holy Cross in 1914, she and her siblings transferred to Holy Cross School where she finished grade and high school.
On July 16, 1920, Barbara entered the novitiate at Mount Saint Joseph to begin preparation for life as an Ursuline. She and her classmates cherished the distinction of being the last postulant class of Mother Aloysius Willett. On March 19, 1921, Barbara received the Ursuline habit and the name Sister Jane Frances.
In June, Sister took the County Teacher’s Examination and was awarded a teaching certificate. In September, she was assigned to Holy Trinity Elementary School, Fredericktown, Ky., to teach grades one through three. Other assignments in Ursuline staffed schools were: Calvary, Chicago, Howardstown, Lebanon, Owensboro, Mayfield, Clementsville, New Haven, Knottsville, and Whitesville, all in Kentucky; Waterflow and Blanco in New Mexico, and Affton in Missouri. She served as the first high school teacher at Sacred Heart Academy, Waterflow. Sister considered the 18 years in the schools in New Mexico the most challenging of her teaching career. In 1973-82, Sister served as librarian at Trinity High School, Whitesville, Ky. Sister Jane Frances was a master teacher whose personality nurtured in her students self confidence and reverence for life and learning. Her very presence brought a calming influence in times of doubt and stress.
She retired to the Motherhouse in 1982 and worked daily in the archives the next 13 years. In 1996, Sister celebrated 75 years as an Ursuline and officially retired. Sister moved from Paul Volk Hall to the infirmary in 1998. She spent much time in prayer and in reminiscing with the Sisters about the joys and accomplishments of Mount Saint Joseph Ursulines. She remembered the minute details of community history, and acted as though it were a privilege to recount the stories.
Sister died at Owensboro Mercy Hospital on Monday, February 10, 2001. A wake service was held on the 13th of February, followed by the funeral Mass on February 14. Sister’s remains are buried in the convent cemetery. Among her survivors were her Ursuline sister, Sister Mary Beatrice and another sister, Sister Camilla, SCN. Her Ursuline sister, Sister Rose Catherine, preceded her in death.