Reita Franco, mother of Alan Franco, dies in Mobile

REITA ANNE PAPLANUS FRANCO, the 80 year-old mother of former Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans president and community leader Alan Franco, died in Mobile, AL on Monday, April 14.

Prior to moving to Mobile from Atlanta in 1976, Franco was a buyer for a department store. Once in Mobile, she embarked on a 28-year career as a successful travel agent.

A native of Winchester, TN, she attended the University of Alabama where she was a member of Beta Gamma Sigma business honor society, past president of Sigma Delta Tau sorority, and graduated with honors in 1955.  Franco was a member of Springhill Avenue Temple where she was a longstanding member of the board. She also served on the boards of the Jewish Community Center and the Mobile Jewish Welfare Fund.

Preceded in death by her husband, Edward Morris Franco, she is survived by her three sons, Alan (Diane), Paul (Leslie), and Bryan Franco of Mobile; a brother, Dr. Samuel H. Paplanus, also of Mobile; and three grandchildren. Funeral services were held at Springhill Avenue Temple in Mobile on Wednesday, April 16, 2014 at 2:30 p.m. Interment followed in Springhill Avenue Temple Cemetery.

Memorial donations are suggested to Springhill Avenue Temple, 1769 Spring Hill Ave., Mobile, AL 36607, the Mobile Jewish Film Festival, 273 Azalea Rd., Ste. 1-219, Mobile, AL 36609, or the Henry S. Jacobs Camp, 3863 Morrison Rd., Utica, MS 39175.