Maura Walsh, age 87 years, longtime Flemington, NJ resident, died on Tuesday, March 27, 2018 at Samaritan Hospice, Voorhees, NJ, surrounded by her loving family.

Born in Dublin, Ireland, January 18, 1931, daughter of the late John and Mary Duffy Maguire, she had resided in Flemington for the past twenty-five years, having formerly lived in New Port Riche, FL and having raised her family in Dunellen, NJ.

Maura emigrated to the United States in January of 1954, having celebrated her twenty-third birthday on the boat trip to America. She had first lived in New York, then for a brief while lived in California before moving back to New York.

During her first arrival in New York, she would meet the love of her life, John Francis Walsh. The two married on October 13, 1956 in Brooklyn, NY and enjoyed thirty-four years of marriage until John’s passing on October 8, 1991.

A homemaker, Maura was the epitome of a faithful, Irish mother whose family always took priority. She took an active role in the lives of her eight children, which included two sets of twins, and was proud of each of them for their individuality, but also for their sense of family.

She and John raised them each to be faithful, caring and genuine, and was proud to see those traits being passed down to her grandchildren and great grandchildren. Her children stated, “She was the center of our family, which extended to include many friends. She loved us very much and we loved her more. Our mother demonstrated an amazing faith and strength throughout her entire life. She was the center of the family. We are weak from our grief now, but will be ok. She would want us to be strong and support each other. We will continue to be the close, loving family we have always been. We will live each day grateful she was our mother, and we are her family.”

A longtime communicant of St. Magdalen Church, Flemington, NJ, Maura was also a member of the Brunswick Shamrock Club. She enjoyed watching Errol Flynn movies, singing, dancing, shopping, dining out and of course spending time with her family. She was always looking forward to the next party, event or vacation. Essentially, she never wanted to miss out on any part of Life.

As her health began to decline, she enjoyed the simple things like sitting on the deck watching the birds while getting “a breath of air”, weekend visits with all “her girls,” and several cups of tea with endless desserts.

Maura’s family wants the world to know what a survivor she was; over the years her passion and zest for living life is just but one of her lasting legacies.

Her strong faith and devotion to the Blessed Mother helped her fight through two bouts of cancer, a heart valve replacement, a heart attack, a seizure disorder, a serious car accident, pulmonary fibrosis, several hospitalizations for pneumonia and fractured bones. Through it all, she never gave up and fought to stay the family Matriarch until she was finally called to her heavenly home.

Irish poet Maria Edgeworth once stated, “If we take care of the moments, the years will take care of themselves.” The dash between Maura’s birth in 1931 to the year 2018 is filled with countless moments of wonder that helped shape the years; years which upon reflection, will be looked back upon as glorious and amazing with no regrets.

This cherished wife, loving mother, proud grandmother, devoted sister and wonderful friend will not soon be forgotten and her good works will forever make this world a better place.

In addition to her husband and parents, Maura was preceded in death by her siblings, Kathleen Maguire, Winifred Maguire, Sean Maguire and June Maguire.

Surviving are her daughters and sons-in-law: Valerie and Paul Fania of Flemington, NJ, Olivia and Claudio Coppola of Clinton, NJ, Deirdre and James Lee of Turnersville, NJ, Fiona and Ignatius DeScala of Flemington, NJ and Joan and Patrick Cavanagh of Flemington, NJ; her sons and daughters- in-laws, John and Vivi Walsh in Columbia, South America, Kieran and Amy Walsh of Tampa FL and Patrick Walsh and Maria Hindman of Spring Hill, FL; her grandchildren, John and Katelyn Lee, Olivia and Lorenzo DeScala, Sonia, Alexander and Isabella Walsh and Sean and Dylan Walsh; her great grandchildren, Skyker, Kyra and Mya Walsh; her sisters, Katherine Kellerman of Hillsborough, NJ, Theresa Barry in Texas and Patricia and Andrew Hyland both in Dublin, Ireland; her sisters-in-law and brother-in-law, Suzanne McMahon of Whiting NJ, Joan Walsh of Hudson, FL and Thomas Walsh of Whiting, NJ; her aunt, Anna Phillips of Los Angeles, CA; several nieces, nephews and extended family; and many dear friends of all ages around the world.

A Mass of Christian Burial celebrated by Rev. John Primich will take place at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, April 3, 2018 at St. Magdalen Church, 105 Mine Street, Flemington, NJ 08822, under the care and direction of Wright & Ford Family Funeral Home and Cremation Services, 38 State Highway 31, Flemington, NJ 08822.

Committal prayers and entombment in St. Magdalen Mausoleum, 100 North Main Street, Flemington, NJ, will follow Mass on Tuesday.

Maura will lie in repose at the funeral home on Monday, April 2, 2018 from 4:00-8:00 p.m., with a Life Celebration Service beginning at 7:00 p.m. to which all are invited to join in this time of joyful reflection.

Additionally, family and friends will be received on Tuesday, April 3, 2018 from 9:30-10:00 a.m. at the funeral home, where all are invited to help celebrate this caring and faithful child of God.

Please visit Maura’s permanent memorial site at www.wrightfamily.com where one can light a memorial candle and leave a message of condolence and words of comfort, as well as share stories and photographs of her life.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in Maura’s memory may be made to St. Jude Children’s Hospital, which was one of her favorite charities as she wanted to help ensure that children and their families did not have to suffer when facing a serious medical issue.

“May you have warm words on a cold evening,
A full moon on a dark night,
And the road downhill all the way to your door.”

~An Irish Proverb

_________________________________________________________________________

Wright & Ford, your local, family owned and operated “Life Celebration Home”