Maureen Gerarda Nye, age 58 years, of Glen Gardner, NJ, died suddenly but peacefully on Saturday, January 20, 2024.
Born on March 20, 1965, in Albertson, NY, daughter of the late Henry Walter Ray and Maureen Jean Mafer Ray, Maureen grew up on Long Island, and later, while in high school, would move to Berkeley Heights, NJ, spending several years in Florida, but living most of her life in Hunterdon County, NJ.
A graduate of Kings College, Wilkes Barre, PA, Maureen would then go on to attend and earn the title of Registered Nurse from Muhlenberg Hospital School of Nursing, Plainfield, NJ, one of the best nursing programs in the area at that time. Always believing that education was a foundational pillar of life, in 2018, she would graduate from Thomas Edison University with her second bachelor’s degree, this time in nursing.
Over the years Maureen worked as a registered Nurse at Beth Israel Hospital, Newark, NJ, served as a Quality Control/RN Trainer for Allscripts, and worked in many various roles involving quality control, safety and infectious disease assurance and as a Registered Nurse for several hospital systems including Hunterdon Healthcare, St. Peter’s Hospital, New Brunswick, NJ, and the RWJ Health System, where she was currently working in training and safety with the nursing staff.
Meeting her former husband, David Nye at the Colorado Café, Watchung, NJ, where the pair honed their line dancing skills, the light of Maureen’s life would come a few years later when her daughter and best friend, Cassandra Rae Nye, was born. A true “Mom” in every sense of the word, Maureen was there for Cassie in all ways, and was proud to see her daughter following her own dreams.
A music aficionado, she loved concerts and could be found dancing anywhere and everywhere. She enjoyed many different types of music and felt there was a beat for every emotion of life. Extremely crafty, her sewing and embroidery skills were exemplary, and she made many of Cassie’s clothes while she was growing up.
Driving was also a passion, and her 1997 Red Mazda Miata stick-shift was still tearing up the roads wherever she went. She fondly would turn the radio as high as it would go, roll down the windows, and spend time at the Jersey Shore enjoying the beach, the people, and the music of Jenkinson’s Boardwalk! While relaxing on the beach or anywhere, she would enjoy reading the latest romance novels. Additionally, she enjoyed target shooting with her Lady Smith & Wesson .38 and rooting for the New York Jets.
Quotation anthologist Terri Guillemets once wrote, “Those we love and lose are always connected by heartstrings into infinity.” Though Maureen’s death was sudden, she is surely not lost as she joins her mother, father and so many others in the place promised in John 14. Until we see her and them again, Maureen would want all reading this to remember that love never dies and that her heart is forever tied to yours…her light will be there for you always, guiding each and every step.
In addition to her mother and father, she was preceded in death by her favorite canine companions, Rosie, Zoe, Connor, Indy, and Skylar.
Surviving is her daughter, Cassandra Rae Nye; her brothers and sisters-in-law, Thomas and Debbie Ray and William and Pamela Ray; her three nieces, Nicole, Lauren, and Kimberly; her former husband, David Nye; her mother-in-law and father-in-law, Alice L. and Jeffrey Nye; several extended family members; and many dear friends made as she traveled her path of life throughout the years.
Maureen will lie in repose on Sunday, January 28, 2024, from 2:00-4:30 p.m., with a Vigil Service and words of reflection by family and friends beginning at 4:30 p.m., all in the Chapel of Wright & Ford Family Funeral Home and Cremation Services, 38 State Highway 31, Flemington, NJ.
A Mass of Christian Burial will take place on Monday, January 29, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. at Immaculate Conception Church, 316 Old Allerton Road, Annandale, NJ. Everyone is kindly asked to meet directly at the church on Monday morning beginning at 9:45 a.m., and to follow the instructions of the Wright & Ford Care Team Family Ambassadors upon arrival for parking.
Interment will take place privately.
You are encouraged to visit Maureen’s permanent life celebration site at www.wrightfamily.com to light a candle of hope, leave messages of condolence, share words of comfort and recollection, and post photographs of her life.
Memorial contributions in her honor and memory may be made to St. Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center, via mail to P.O. Box 159, Madison, NJ 07940, or online by clicking HERE. Any and all contributions are greatly appreciated by the family.
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Wright & Ford, your local, family owned & operated “Life Celebration Home”
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