Rev. Sr. Franco (82),   the founder-principal of St. Joseph's College, the first ever women's college in Irinjalakuda, passed away this morning following a brief illness. After her masters in English from Michigan she took over the reins of the college at the  young age of 34, the youngest ever principal in the state perhaps,  and nurtured  it for 26 years, from scratches to glory.

If not for her pioneering endeavours, the hamlet would not have had so many college educated women among its population today. For several years, the suburb had only a single college which admitted only men, and women, if at all they were determined to bag a degree, had to live and learn in towns several miles away from their native place, and that was not always financially feasible for all those who had the fire for higher education in them. Forty-five years into its the existence, the college still stands as a singular stellar  monument to  Sr.  Franco's inimitable farsight and inexhaustible zest for community service.