Spokeswoman for airline, 2 govs
In 23 years as a spokeswoman for American Airlines, Mary Frances Fagan handled questions about weather delays, crashes, close calls, labor strikes and bankruptcy, not to mention an airport terminal with a flea infestation and the time a suitcase with a buzzing electric razor inside created a three- hour flight delay.
Reporters respected her. She called them back promptly and was always available for a quote or a “live shot” on TV.
She connected people from Champaign, where she grew up; her alma mater, the University of Illinois; the campus radio station where she worked, WPGU107.1; and the Illinois Statehouse, where she was a radio reporter. Later, she served as an assistant press secretary for Governors Jim Thompson and Jim Edgar.
Ms. Fagan, 63, died Sunday in Chicago of complications from a brain tumor. Her illness, she wrote, was discovered a year ago after a seizure that left her feeling “like Dorothy waking in her bed after the twister in ‘ The Wizard of Oz.’”
While at the airline, she took care of flight arrangements for the actors, directors and writers who came to Champaign for Roger Ebert’s film festival.
“Without the generosity of Mary Frances and American Airlines right from the beginning, Ebertfest would have been a local film festival instead of one with an international reputation,” said his widow, Chaz Ebert. “In addition to dedicating the festival to Roger for its 20th anniversary ( April 18- 22), we are also dedicating it to Mary Frances Fagan.”
Former American Airlines CEO Robert Crandall told Ms. Fagan in a recent email, “You helped forge the world’s greatest airline.”
She linked a large network of friends in the equivalent of Six Degrees of Mary Frances Fagan. They called her “MOF.” It developed from nicknames using her initials, MFF. They came out sounding like “MOF.”
As she grew ill, friends and relatives ferried her to doctor appointments and brought her homemade chicken soup.
“Mary Frances was a really exceptional person, and I say that as somebodywho has hired and worked with thousands,” said Thompson. “She was smart and she was fun.”
Ms. Fagan watched over fledgling reporters when she was Springfield bureau chief for Illinois Public Radio outlet WUIS 91.9 FM. She knew there were lawmakers interested in “session sweethearts” — and she warned young women about them.
“So many say, ‘ She was my mentor,’ ” said friend Jan Grimes.
“She was always willing to help anybody out,” said Charles N. Wheeler III, former Springfield bureau chief for the Sun- Times. “An allaround beautiful person.”
Andrea Huguely, once a spokeswoman for American Airlines, recalled how Ms. Fagan helped her prepare American Eagle’s then- CEO Peter Bowler for an appearance before Congress, “making sure the testimony was accurate and informative.” Then, Ms. Fagan instructed her to take a seat behind Bowler during his testimony. “It signaled to Peter she trusted me,” Huguely said.
The owner of five mink coats and awhite fox Cossack hat that she bought during a trip to Russia, Ms. Fagan was always impeccably turned out. And once she discovered Bobbi Brown makeup, she never looked at any other eyeshadow or lipstick.
Even heading to chemo, “It was a mink coat, and nails done,” said friend Jan Kostner.
“She had to have her jewelry, her hat, her scarf perfect. And Chanel No. 5,” said Emily Johnson, her college roommate.
Young Mary Frances grew up in Champaign and graduated from Centennial High School.
Ms. Fagan earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign and worked at its radio station, WPGU 107.1. There, “she was one of the first women I ever recall was an active sports reporter,” said fellow alum GaryMack, a former spokesman for Edgar.
After getting a master’s in public- affairs reporting from the University of Illinois Springfield, she worked at WUIS 91.9 FM.
And after serving in the administrations of Thompson and Edgar, she joined American Airlines in 1991. She had assignments in Paris, Tokyo, Moscow and London, where she was thrilled to watch Benedict Cumberbatch perform in “Hamlet.” She helped create the North American Challenge Cup, the Chicago Yacht Club’s annual regatta for sailors with disabilities, arranging their travel on American Airlines.
In 2011, the University of Illinois recognized her as a Chicago Illini of the Year. In 2014 she formed her firm, Fagan Communications.
Ms. Fagan is survived by her brother George and niece Erica England. A celebration of her life is planned in Chicago this spring.