Rapid City – Frances M. Bachand, 95, Rapid City, died on May 2, 2019, at West Hills Village.

Fran was preceded in death by her husband James E. Bachand, parents Lola and Joseph Burg, brothers Robert, John and Richard (Moe).

Frances was born in Mitchell, SD, on February 21, 1924.

In June 1946 she graduated with a bachelor's degree in Nursing from Creighton University, Omaha, NE. In the summer of 1947, she joined United Airlines as a flight attendant and after only one flight, she went back to nursing.  She went to Hawaii and served as a nurse at Tripler Army Hospital in Hawaii. Upon returning state side, she went on to complete her Master's in Nursing from the University of Colorado in Boulder in 1957.  Frances was the first lay director of nursing at St. Joseph's Hospital, Phoenix, Arizona.

On June 29, 1963, she married James E. Bachand at Holy Family Catholic Church in Mitchell.    In 1979 Frances became the school nurse at Our Lady of Perpetual Help School in Rapid City.  Frances was a lifelong member of Catholic Daughters of America, St. Rita's Circle and a lifelong blood donor.

She is survived by four children: Annie Loyd, Rapid City, South Dakota; James J. Bachand and Robert Hamilton, Missoula, Montana; Timothy J. Bachand and wife Kai, Maui, Hawaii; Paul E. Bachand and wife Carla, and two grandchildren, Douglas and Sara, Pierre, South Dakota; sister-in-law Patricia Burg, Sioux Falls, SD, and many nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm Monday May 6, with a Christian Wake Service at 7:00 pm, all at Osheim & Schmidt Funeral Home.

Mass of Christian Burial will be 10:00 am Tuesday May 7 at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help.

Burial will follow at Mount Calvary Cemetery, Rapid City.

A memorial has been established for (St. Thomas More High School)