Obituary of Margaret Rueda

Margaret Rueda, 91, of Princeton, died peacefully on Monday surrounded by her three daughters: Maria (Patrick), Cecilia (Jack) and Teresa (Teri). 

Visitation will be held on Thursday, March 14 from 4 to 7 PM at Poulson & Van Hise Funeral Directors, 650 Lawrence Road, Lawrenceville.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Friday March 15 at 10 AM at The Church of St. Ann, 1253 Lawrence Road, Lawrenceville, NJ 

Interment will follow at Highland Cemetery, Hopewell, NJ. 

In lieu of flowers, gifts may be made in Margaret’s memory to Greenwood House Hospice, 53 Walter St., Ewing, NJ 08628 

Margaret's Eulogy

March 11, 2019, just one month shy of her 92nd Birthday a beautiful spirit left us.

Margaret was devoted to her church her husband and her children, and she gave herself fully to them. She held firm in what she believed and did not waver, and so you always knew where you stood.

She was an avid gardener, a talented seamstress and homemaker.

Whether executing graceful spiral jumps on the ice of Thompson Lake, or perfectly sewing intricate patterns for our clothes, Mom would never stop until she achieved the Best possible result. And she instilled that drive to achieve and accomplish in all of her daughters.

She was very proud of her girls, and I think she counted them as her greatest accomplishments.  Because with her Brains and Beauty, she could have accomplished anything she wanted to do. Maria recalls in a childhood memory one of her doctors confessing, “your Mother is so Beautiful,” and one of her childhood friends told her later in life, that it was Margaret’s sense of elegance and dignity that made her stand out among the other mothers.

Her husband, Ben, relocated often for his job and travelled extensively. Margaret coordinated relocating the family and kept everything running smoothly at home while Ben was away.  

She was very brave.  She grew up on rural Forsgate Farm, and the loss of her father when she was only 7 years old (during the Great Depression) left a very strong impression on her life.  She always encouraged us to be educated and self-sufficient, and not to worry about getting married and leading conventional lives.  Margaret truly enjoyed learning, but family always came first.  While in high school she suspended her studies to secure employment to enable her brother in his pursuit of higher education. Her dogged determination to finish what she started brought her back to high school, earning her diploma (class valedictorian) and was awarded a scholarship to Douglas University.  However, once again she had to suspend her education in order to bolster her family’s finances.

She and Ben had a love story the likes of which movies are made.  After she lost Ben, she downsized and moved to a new area.  While she had the love and support of her daughters, she did not burden them.  She lived alone and made a life for herself for the next 17 years. She made new friends, volunteered at church and socialized at community events.  She kept busy.  She took classes.  Once when her daughters couldn’t reach her by phone, they grew concerned and called the police to go to check on her.  Turned out Mom was taking a computer class and was a bit annoyed that her girls were checking up on her.

She was a loving person who gave of herself to help others by driving cancer patients to treatment and buying clothes at Christmas to donate for children in need – just to name a few.

Until the disease that claimed Ben, reached out for Margaret too, her last 14 months were full of new Friends and experiences.  Mom was the star of Acorn Glen.  Her daughters devoted most of their available time with Mom taking walks around the beautiful grounds, reading, watching old movies and attending lovely Sunday afternoon concerts.

Any of Maria, Cecilia or Teresa will readily say that those last months were far too short.