Sister Mary Frances McDonagh, 87, an Ursuline Sister of Mount Saint Joseph, died Nov. 22 at Mount Saint Joseph, in her 64th year of religious life.
A native of Trienbawn, County Galway, Ireland, she was an Ursuline Sister of Belleville, Ill., before the merger of that community with the Ursulines of Mount Saint Joseph in October 2005. She entered the community in England, coming to Belleville in 1954.
Sister Frances loved people, she made friends wherever she went, always greeting others with her warm smile and her gentle Irish accent.
Sister Frances taught at St. Regis School, East St. Louis, Ill., 1955-56 and 1961-62, at Holy Childhood of Jesus School, Mascoutah, Ill., 1962-76, 1977-78, and 1979-97, and at Our Lady Queen of Peace School, Belleville, 1978-79. She was a registered nurse. In 1978-79, she served as assistant vocation director for the Diocese of Belleville. She served on her community’s leadership team several times. She retired in 1997 in Belleville, where she continued to serve as treasurer for the Ursuline Sisters Auxiliary and Friends Club. She moved to Maple Mount in 2006.
Survivors include two sisters, Sister Mary Patrick McDonagh, Maple Mount, and Eileen McDonagh, along with a sister-in-law, Delia McDonagh, both of County Galway, Ireland; nieces and nephews, and the members of her religious community.
Glenn Funeral Home and Crematory, Owensboro, is in charge of arrangements.
Gifts in memory of Sister Mary Frances McDonagh may take the form of donations to the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph, 8001 Cummings Road, Maple Mount, KY 42356.
Wake reflection located on page 2.