Sue B. Francis' Obituary
Sue B. Francis was a Richardson girl all of her life. She loved to tell the stories of going from the farmland town to downtown Dallas by bus, of being in the first graduating class of over 100 students, and watching the incredible growth of her town with the coming of Central Expressway. She was a life-long member of First Baptist Church, Richardson. In high school she was a majorette as well as a good student. She continued her education at North Texas State Teacher’s College (non UNT), married and had two children, went back to North Texas, earning both Master’s and Ed.D degrees. She subsequently taught elementary school classes and was named Teacher of the Year for the RISD in 1973 and Outstanding Educator in 1974. She then became a principal at both Stults Road Elementary and the Hamilton Park Magnet schools. While at the latter, the school was among the first in the nation to receive the U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon Awards. In 1984 she was named RISD principal of the Year and later a Region Administrator of the Year. She contributed articles to several journals and books, including A Kindergarten System which was adopted for use by the State of Texas, and was a member of local, state and national professional organizations. A number of current principals trained under her as assistant principals. When she retired in 1998 she took a position as the Custom-Designed Services coordinator for the National Staff Development Council (subsequently Learning Forward). So much could be written about this remarkable woman. She leaves to cherish her memory her husband, Jim Cargile, sister Delores Busby, sons Rob and wife Lori Francis and Chris Francis and friend Andrea Parlee, stepson and wife, David and Terri Cargile, and grandchildren, James, J.D., and Andre Francis, Maddie and Mason Cargile along with many nephews, nieces, grand nephews, and grand nieces, and more loving friends and professional acquaintances than could be listed. A memorial service to celebrate Sue’s life will be held at First Baptist Richardson at 4pm on Tuesday, September 27. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a memorial donation to Hamilton Park Elementary in memory of Sue. Please use the following link. www.risdfoundation.org When you get to the homepage > Donate > Make a donation > scroll to bottom of page – click on down arrow – Make this donation a tribute > In Memory > fill in “Sue Francis” > go to Message box & put in “Designated for HPPM” > Donate now. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Restland Funeral Home and Memorial Park, 13005 Greenville Avenue, Dallas, TX 75243.
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