BARLING, Ark. — Sister Mary Cabrini Fagan, Sisters of Mercy, died Sunday, May 24, 2009, at Catherine McAuley Retirement Convent in Barling, Ark. She was 80.

Born in Bassfield, she was baptized Agnes Bernice Fagan.

Sister Cabrini entered the Sisters of Mercy community at Webster Groves, Mo., on Sept. 8, 1946, and made her first vows on March 12, 1949.

She received a Bachelor of Science degree in elementary education and English and history degrees at Our Lady of the Lake in San Antonio, Texas, on July 15, 1958. Her first years of teaching were in New Orleans at St. Alphonsus. She then moved back to Mississippi, where she taught for many years in Biloxi, Pass Christian, Hattiesburg, Vicksburg and Meridian.

Sister Cabrini retired to Our Lady of Wisdom in December 1999, then moved to McAuley Convent in August 2003.

She is survived by two sisters, Natalie Stephens of Carson, Miss., and Lois Bishop of Tallahassee, Fla.; a brother, Edmond Fagan of Bassfield; and nieces and nephews.

Rosary will be at 9 a.m. Wednesday at McAuley Retirement Convent. The Funeral Mass will follow at 10 a.m. at the convent. The burial of her ashes will be at Calvary Cemetery in Fort Smith, Ark., under the direction of Fentress Mortuary of Fort Smith.