Mary Louise “Mary Lou” (Weeks) Fugere, 85, of Greenville, passed away on Tuesday April 30th in RI Hospital surrounded by her loving family. She was the wife of the late Ernest J. Fugere, Jr. They had been married for 56 years.
Born in Providence, a daughter of the late Carl G. and Alice (McCarthy) Weeks. She lived in Greenville for 63 years. Mary Lou grew up in East Providence and was a graduate of St. Mary’s Academy, Bay View. She was very active in the Catholic Youth Organization, and served as Secretary and Vice President of the Diocesan CYO Youth Council. After graduation, she was employed by the New England Telephone Company and member of the US Eastern Ski Association where she met her husband. In her later career, she was Executive Assistant to the Dean of Undergraduate Studies at Providence College and retired after 26 years.
Mary Lou loved to spend time with her family, and was a devoted mother, “Glamma” and most recently, Great Glamma to her nine grandchildren and three great grandchildren. Spending time with friends brought her a lot of joy, including Saturday night card games and shopping trips. She loved to play golf, and was a member of the Providence College Women’s Golf
League for many years. She was an avid Boston Red Sox, Boston Bruins, and New England Patriots fan.
She is survived by her children, Kevin Fugere and his wife, Gina, of Greenville, Mark Fugere and his wife, Gail, of North Kingstown, Brian Fugere and his wife, Colleen, of East Greenwich and Kathleen Sullivan and her husband, Brian, of East Greenwich. She was the grandmother of Nicholas, Caitlin, Colby, Alyssa, Kaylee, Alexandra, Cameron, Jamie and Quinn. She was the great-grandmother of Benjamin, Mara Lou, and Jennifer Jean. She was the sister of the late Paula Skelly.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held Monday, May 6, at 10am in St. Philip Church, 622 Putnam Pike, Greenville. Her burial will be in St. Ann’s Cemetery, Cranston. Visitation is Sunday May 5th 4-7pm in the Anderson-Winfield Funeral Home, Route 44 at Greenville Common, Greenville. In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to the Multiple Sclerosis Society.
Multiple Sclerosis Society
Below is the Eulogy read by Mr. Brian Fugere at Mrs. Mary Lou Fugere's wake:
If you didn’t know already, Mom was referred to as GLAMMA by her grandkids
Mom’s/Glamma’s faith was at the core of who she was. Every day, every decision, and how she treated other people; it was all led by faith. Her patron saint was Saint Teresa, who was the Saint of little ways. Mom believed in doing the little things in life well and with great love.
She was a positive influence on her entire family. Family meant everything to her. She loved spending time with her kids and their Spouses, grandkids, and great grandchildren. She was so proud of them all.
As a parent, she was always there taking us to every activity, every sports game and practice. You just didn’t want to sit right next to her at a hockey game, because every shot on Kevin, the Goalie, she would nervously squeeze your leg until it lost circulation.
Growing up, her and Dad would bring us on road trips around the East Coast, and to Sunday pool parties with their friends, better known as “The Gang.”
Without fail, she always remembered everyone’s birthday, anniversary, and special occasion. You could guarantee you’d receive a card in the mail.
She would come up with any reason to get the family together, because family was the most important thing to her.
She had such a great laugh. She would laugh so hard, she cackled. Sometimes to the point where you weren’t sure if she was still breathing and we’d joke about calling the ambulance.
She loved to have fun and joke around, and her humor spread far and wide. When golfing in the PC women’s golf league, she got the First Birdie award — and it wasn't because she scored one under par. It was because she hit an actual bird off of her tee shot. God rest its soul.
Beyond golf, she was an avid Boston sports fan, following every game the Red Sox, Bruins, and Patriots played. Even if it meant watching Overtimes until 3:00 in the morning. A family friend of ours joked that when we were growing up, before we could rely on the internet, they’d call Mrs. Fugere if they missed a game to find out who won.
On a more personal note, everytime I went to visit her, it was politely expected that I bring her a Jersey Mike’s sandwich. She truly enjoyed those right down to the last bite……..again the little things in life.
Her role as a devoted Executive Assistant to the Dean of Undergraduate Studies at PC for 26 years ignited our family’s love for Friartown, which holds strong to this day, bringing us all together in many ways. Several of her kids and grandkids graduated from Providence College.
Speaking of grandkids, we asked them to give us a sense of what they remember about their Glamma.
They again spoke of her legacy, which she gave to all of us, and the rich sense of family she instilled in us.
They remember her cheering them on from the stands at all of their sports games, from Rhode Island all the way to Vermont.
But from a young age the thing that sticks out most is the time we all spent together each fall in Cape Cod. A time to be together, with the kids running around the hotel, swimming, going on shopping trips, and counting coins; all to come back at the end of the day for Glamma’s famous apple pie. Heaven forbid it was raining, the Grandkids would find her wearing a rain bonnet when they stopped by her room.
At Christmas, and any other event, you knew she was going to show up dressed to the nines; impeccably matching from head to toe, with a glowing sparkle to her.
Despite her fashion sense, she was also known to spill and stain her clothes every now and then. On a trip to Disney, she stained her shirt and pulling out her great sense of humor, decided to cover it with a Disney sticker. 20 years later, she was still asking the grandkids for a sticker any time she spilled at a party.
One of her most notable traits was her ability to hear everything. No matter how far away she was from us, nothing got past her. Mark, Kevin and I could be talking upstairs while she was down in the Kitchen, and she could practically repeat verbatim what we had said. I always said she could hear the grass growing.
Mom gave us the gift of family. The cousins grew up together and became more than just cousins, they became friends; all thanks to the love she poured into our family.
Alexandra put it so eloquently in the following poem, titled “Glamma.” Which Jamie is going to read:
She will always be our Mom, our Glamma, and our great Glamma. Her life hasn’t ended, it has just changed. She’s reunited with Dad, playing a game of cards from above.
Her legacy lives on, within all of us. May God rest her soul.