Francis Marie Illa

Sister Francis Marie Illa, School Sister of Notre Dame, died Saturday, May 26, 2007, at Good Counsel Convent, Mankato, Minnesota, at age 81. The Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Thursday, May 31, at 10:30 a.m. in Good Counsel Chapel. Visitation will be from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Wednesday at Good Counsel, with Vespers in the chapel at 7:00 p.m. Visitation is also one hour prior to the funeral on Thursday. Mankato Mortuary is in charge.

Sister Francis Marie (Theresa Illa) was born in Miesville, Minnesota, December 17, 1925, to Michael and Catherine (Gerlach) Illa. Following graduation from Good Counsel Academy, Mankato, she entered the School Sisters of Notre Dame in Mankato in 1943 and took First Vows in 1946. Having earned a B.A. in English from the College of St. Catherine, St. Paul, and an M.A. in Sociology from Gonzaga University, Spokane, she taught for almost 50 years on both the junior high and secondary levels in schools in Minnesota, Iowa, Washington, and North Dakota. In Mankato, she taught at Good Counsel Academy and Loyola High School. At the time of her death she was part-time librarian at Holy Childhood School in St. Paul.

Sister is survived by her sister, Sister M. Carol Illa, SSND, of Good Counsel, by nieces and nephews, and by her Sisters in Community, the School Sisters of Notre Dame. She was preceded in death by her parents, her brothers Francis and Edward, and her sister Madeline Kieffer.