Frances Franklin, longtime advocate for educational opportunities and one of the first women hired as an accountant by Price Waterhouse, died Thursday, April 7, after a short illness. She was 87 and had been a longtime resident of St. Louis.

Mrs. Franklin, the daughter of Russian Jewish immigrants, grew up over the small grocery store operated by her parents in St. Louis. She credited her parents with impressing upon her the importance of education for women as well as for men.

Mrs. Franklin graduated with a degree in accounting from the Washington University School of Business. In 1944, she became one of the first women to be hired as an accountant by the firm of Price Waterhouse.

Her interest in advocacy for educational opportunities remained a priority throughout her adult life. She became the first chairwoman of the Reading is Fundamental program in the St. Louis Public Schools, inspired in part by her own love of reading. She became president of the Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis, for which she volunteered for over 40 years. She previously had served the Foundation as financial secretary and longtime board member. Faith Sandler, executive director of the Foundation, described Mrs. Franklin as optimistic about human potential, who “believed that education was the key to a democratic society.”

Mrs. Franklin also found an outlet for her passion for education through the Washington University Lifelong Learning program for seniors. She served as a facilitator, leader and participant in several of the courses on a variety of subjects, serving hundreds of older adults. Among the courses she offered were art appreciation and literature. She later became president of the program. She was also a lifetime member of the St. Louis Chapter of Hadassah and the St. Louis Section of the National Council of Jewish Women. She was also a member of Congregation Shaare Emeth.

Mrs. Franklin was also a longtime volunteer and leader of the docent program, and member of the Board of Friends at the St. Louis Art Museum. Described by family members as having an “indomitable spirit,” Mrs. Franklin continued her activities with Lifelong Learning and other groups even after an accident in 2001 left her a quadriplegic. Another activity in which she continued was the Sewing Club, now in its 67th year of bi-weekly meetings.

Among the survivors are three daughters, Sally Zweig of Indianapolis; Carol Evers of St. Louis and Amy Pritikin of Chicago; a son, Jay Franklin of greater Los Angeles; two sisters, Betty Meyer of Connecticut and Dories Kohn of St. Louis; seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Funeral services and entombment were held Sunday at the New Mount Sinai Cemetery, 8430 Gravois Road. Contributions are preferred to the Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis, 8215 Clayton Road, St. Louis, Mo. 63117.