Groundbreaking nurse Frances Terry, who paved the way for nurses of color, passes on

WSNA honors Frances Jefferson Terry, MN, ARNP, a trailblazing nurse who died Oct. 6, 2024. She was 94.

Terry leaves behind a legacy of hope and achievement. She not only advanced the nursing profession, but she paved the way for African American nurses and worked with vulnerable populations. WSNA is so thankful she was a life-time member of our community.

Terry was born to Ruth Williams Jefferson and Walter Louis Jefferson on Jan. 7, 1930, in Jackson, Mississippi. At age 12, her parents moved their two daughters to Seattle for a more equitable future. She graduated from Seattle's Broadway High School in 1946.

She earned a nursing degree from Seattle University, becoming the first African American to graduate from the School of Nursing and the second to graduate from any nursing school in the state.

When Terry graduated from nursing school, only a couple of hospitals would hire a "colored" nurse. Some patients would not allow her to care for them. But she found support and inspiration from her African American colleagues, including Ann Foy Baker, who formed the Mary Mahoney Professional Nurses Organization in 1948 to support African American nurses. The organization, which is still going strong today, provides professional development as well as scholarships, mentoring, and socio-cultural support to African American nursing students.

Terry went on to earn a master's degree in nursing from the University of Washington and raised a family of five children while working as a registered nurse and advanced registered nurse practitioner in various nursing areas— hospitals, schools, nonprofit, community mental health. She was director of health services at what is now known as the Northwest Center, where she helped families form support groups and obtained a grant for taking care of kids after school.

She also worked with the mentally ill at Harborview Medical Center and as a nurse consultant at Community House Mental Health Agency. In May 1993, she was recognized as one of three outstanding nurses at Harborview Medical Center during National Nurses Week.

Terry joined the Washington State Nurses Association right after graduation and chaired or co-chaired various committees, including WSNA's Cabinet of Nursing Practice and Education and the Ethics and Human Rights Committee.

She represented WSNA at the International Congress of Nurses in Madrid, Spain, and was inducted into the WSNA Hall of Fame in 2000. A highlight of her nursing career was a trip to China in an exchange nursing program, which allowed her to learn about a different culture while bringing new nursing practices in physical and mental health to the people there.

Terry also served on the board of Seattle's Catholic Community Services. She and her husband of 67 years, Bob, were active members of the Immaculate Conception Church and served on the Parish Council. She was a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. and Seattle's Delta Upsilon Omega chapter.

Among Terry’s proudest moments was attending President Barack Obama's inauguration in 2009.

In Terry's honor, memorial donations are suggested to the Mary Mahoney Scholarship Fund. marymahoney.org; Mary Mahoney Professional Nurse Organization, P.O. Box 22003, Seattle, WA 98122.