September 21, 1937 – October 2, 2020

Sister Francis Marie Thrailkill, OSU, died peacefully Oct. 2, 2020, at Our Lady of Wisdom Healthcare Center in New Orleans, Louisiana.

The daughter of Franklin and Mary Myrtle Huggins Thrailkill, she was born Barbara Ann Thrailkill on Sept. 21, 1937, in San Antonio, Texas. She graduated from Ursuline Academy in San Antonio and entered the Ursuline Sisters in 1955, making her vows in 1958.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in history from the College of New Rochelle in New Rochelle, New York; a master’s degree in sociology from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and a doctorate in educational administration from Nova University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

An outstanding educator, Sister Francis Marie taught elementary grades at Ursuline Academy in New Orleans from 1963-64 and at the high school from 1964-70. She taught at Ursuline Academy in Dallas, Texas, from 1961-63 and was principal from 1970-77. She was president of Springfield College in Springfield, Illinois, from 1978-87 and president of Mount St. Joseph University in Mount St. Joseph, Ohio, from 1987-2007. She also served as interim president of Chatfield College in St. Martin, Ohio, and Wheeling Jesuit University in Wheeling, West Virginia.

After retiring she returned to San Antonio in 2011, moving to Our Lady of Wisdom in New Orleans in 2014.

Sister Francis Marie was preceded in death by two brothers, Franklin (Irene) and Robert Thrailkill, and a sister, Mary Francis Thrailkill Grohman (Fred). She is survived by many nieces and nephews.

A funeral Mass will be celebrated Oct. 10 at the National Votive Shrine of Our Lady of Prompt Succor in New Orleans. Burial will be at the Ursuline Sisters’ mausoleum on the Ursuline Academy campus.