Maureen C. Agar

Maureen C. ("Mo") (Oliver) Agar, 90, went home to be with God on August 31, 2024, after a long illness, with her family by her side at the Parker at Somerset in Somerset, N.J. She was predeceased by her husband, Atty. Joseph V. Aguiar; mother, Mary (Butler) Oliver; brother, James H. Oliver; and sisters, Patricia Giacobbe and Marguerite Reutenauer. She is survived by her loving son and daughter-in-law, James J. and Mary C. (Shubsda) Agar, and her grandsons, Joseph P., Oliver J., Benjamin F. Agar, all of Westfield, N.J., who were the center of her life, as well as several cousins and nieces and a nephew.

Born in Fall River, Mass., during a snowstorm on January 25, 1934, she attended that city's former Sacred Heart Grammar School and graduated from its former Mount Saint Mary Academy. She later was briefly enrolled at the University of Florida. Prior to her marriage, she was a bookkeeper at various enterprises in Fall River, including the former Furniture Outlet and Ideal Furniture, and Greater Orlando, Fla., including the former Ernst & Ernst (now Ernst & Young), Precisioneering, Dynatronics, Martin Orlando (now Lockheed Martin), the Florida Audubon Society (now Audubon Florida), and the Chester C. Fosgate Co., as well as serving as a health and welfare administrator for the Carpenters' Union local in Fall River. She also worked in retail at J.C. Penney Co. in Florida and at the former Jordan Marsh & Co. in both Florida and Swansea, Mass. Later, she was a volunteer at Charlton Memorial Hospital and the former Rose Hawthorne Lathrop Cancer Home, both in Fall River. She was an Assistant Den Leader for her son's Cub Scout pack in Florida and was proud to be a triple Eagle Scout mother and grandmother.

As an adult, she lived in the Fall River and Orlando areas; Atlanta, Ga., Fredericksburg, Va.; Fairfield, Conn.; Franklin, Mass.; and Westfield, N.J. Her lifetime adventures took her to the Bahamas and the Caribbean and, at nearly 70 years old, on a three-week solo adventure to Vienna, Innsbruck, and Salzburg, Austria. She enjoyed fashion, interior design, Christmas, socializing, seafood, chow mein sandwiches, coffee milk, 1950s music and Irish ballads, current events, playing with her dogs, and -- most importantly -- serving as the "pillow" into which her son and grandsons could always "fall softly" in times of uncertainty or sadness.

Maureen's decades-long devotion to the Blessed Mother gave her strength in the face of challenge. She was raised in the former Sacred Heart and St. Patrick's (now Good Shepherd) parishes in Fall River and later attended that city's Church of the Holy Name as well as St. Mary Magdalen Church in Altamonte Springs, Fla., and St. Margaret Mary Church in Winter Park, Fla. For the past six years, she was a communicant of the Catholic Church of the Holy Trinity in Westfield, N.J.

Two of Maureen's greatest accomplishments were as a daughter and as a mother who served as a "rock" through periods of notable difficulty: She was her mother's primary caregiver during a long battle with cancer in the mid-1960s through 1970; and she successfully navigated the waters of being a widowed mother following the unexpected loss of her husband in 1989, succeeding in getting her son through college and "on his way" to adulthood.

We will always remember her for her spontaneous laughter; her "world's best" back-scratches, head rubs, and hugs; her singing to and cuddling with her grandsons; her unmatched roast pork- and French toast-making skills; and her dutifully always making sure to make a Sign of the Cross on the foreheads of her family members before they went to bed or left the house and reminding them to "Say the 'Name of the Father'" prior to traveling anywhere.

Mom/Gran, we love you more than you know, with all our hearts and souls. Good night; God bless you; we love you. And may the Lord hold you in the palm of His hand.

Our family wishes to express gratitude to Maureen's caregivers, home health aide Grace Dada, and the staff of the Parker at Somerset, especially Iz Enriquez, who have collectively demonstrated unfailing kindness and compassion over the past two years.

Arrangements are under the direction of the Waring-Sullivan Home at Cherry Place, 178 Winter Street, Fall River, Mass. Calling hours on Friday, September 6, from 6-8 PM at the funeral home. The funeral will begin at the funeral home at 9 AM on Saturday, September 7, followed a Mass of Christian Burial will be held on 10 AM at the Church of the Holy Name, 709 Hanover Street, Fall River, with interment immediately following at St. Patrick's Cemetery in Fall River. A memorial Mass will be celebrated at the Catholic Church of the Holy Trinity, 315 First St., Westfield, N.J., on Saturday, September 28, at 10:30 AM. For directions or to place an online tribute, please visit: www.waring-sullivan.com

In lieu of flowers, please consider a gift in Maureen's honor to Parker Life (https://www.parkerlife.org/about-us/donations/) or Team Parker for Alzheimer's New Jersey (https://www.alznj.org/get-involved/donate/).