Francis Griffin Roper

A resident of Baton Rouge, she died Monday, Jan. 17, 2011, after a lengthy illness. She was 77, born March 3, 1933, in Belcher, and grew up in West Monroe, graduating from Ouachita Parish High School in 1951. She received her bachelor's degree in journalism from Northwestern State College and later earned a master's degree in literature from Northeast Louisiana State College. Her desire to pursue a doctorate in literature brought her to Baton Rouge in 1968. She enrolled in the doctoral program at LSU, where she taught freshman and sophomore English for several years until she realized a Ph.D. was not worth the misery of grading papers. She secured an editing position in LSU's Office of Academic Affairs and retired as the assistant to the vice chancellor in 1991. She was an active member of First Presbyterian Church and volunteered at the Christian Outreach Center for many years until declining health forced her to resign. She is survived by a daughter and son-in-law, Emilie Roper Smart and John Malcolm Smart, of Baton Rouge; and two cousins, Marium Griswold and Nancy Griswold, both of Alexandria, Va. She was preceded in death by her parents, Robert Lee Griffin and Ernestine Vaughan Griffin; and dear friend, Lynn Garrett. Visitation at Rabenhorst Funeral Home, 825 Government St., on Saturday, Jan. 22, from 9:30 a.m. until the memorial service at 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank or Cat Haven.