Olga Ann Killian Pounders

Olga Ann Killian Pounders passed away peacefully on March 12, 2026, at the age of 82. Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on March 12, 1944, she was the youngest daughter of John D. Killian of St. Louis, Missouri, and Elizabeth Graf Killian of New Orleans. Olga was a beloved mother, grandmother, sister, and friend whose life was marked by intelligence, grace, and creativity.

Raised in New Orleans alongside her siblings, Elizabeth Killian Davis, Kenneth Killian, and John Killian, Olga excelled from an early age. She graduated as valedictorian from Sacred Heart School and later earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of New Orleans. Books were among her earliest and most enduring loves; as a child she read through her elementary school library so quickly that she was granted special permission to borrow from the high school collection. As a teenager she developed an interest in radio code and theory, an enthusiasm she learned from her father and that was recognized in Popular Electronics magazine in 1958. She also earned the Girl Scouts’ highest honor of her time, the First-Class Award, and studied dance from the age of eleven through twenty-four, an pursuit that contributed to the quiet grace and confidence she carried throughout her life.

Olga began her professional life as a secretary and steadily advanced, becoming an administrator and programmer for Lykes Brothers Steamship. She later served as administrator of the campus-wide University of New Orleans information technology help desk, supporting students, faculty, and staff with the same steadiness, competence, and quiet excellence that defined her in every setting. She shared a 47-year marriage with Anthony Jack Lord Pounders until his death in 2014. Olga lived most of her life in New Orleans and spent her final years in Baton Rouge.

Her hands were rarely still. She was an accomplished seamstress and held leadership roles in the New Orleans chapter of the Smocking Arts Guild of America. She also enjoyed crochet, travel, calligraphy, photography, and games of patience and strategy, especially solitaire and Mahjong. Olga is preceded in death by her husband, Anthony Jack Lord Pounders, her parents, John D. Killian and Elizabeth Graf Killian, her brother Kenneth Killian, and her grandson Luke Cire. She is survived by her children, Anthony Jack Pounders Jr. (Wendi), Jacqueline Ann Pounders Cire Jacobs (Kurt), and Adam Pounders (Enny); her sister, Elizabeth Killian Davis; her brother, John Killian; her grandchildren, Abigail Fontaine (Kyle), Archer Pounders, Shep Pounders, Elizabeth Cire, Caspian Jacobs, and Ariadne Jacobs; and her great-granddaughters Lillian Fontaine and Lila Fontaine. She will be remembered with love by extended family and dear friends whose lives were brightened by her wisdom, wit, and steady affection. Olga will be remembered for her sharp mind, capable hands, and steadfast spirit. She leaves behind the example of a life well read, beautifully made, and deeply loved.