Agnes F. (Fanning) McLaughlin, 99 of Rockland died on March 13, 2010 at the South Shore Hospital. She was born in South Boston, daughter of the late Edward and Mary (McCurdy) Fanning and was raised and educated there. In her younger days, Agnes was a ballet dancer and well known radio singer. An avid reader and crossword puzzle enthusiast, she was known to be a vocal fan of both the Red Sox and the Patriots. Wife of the late John C. McLaughlin, she was the mother of Jane M. Mellor of Rockland, Thomas M. McLaughlin of ME and the late John C. McLaughlin, Jr. Agnes was predeceased by 10 siblings and is also survived by 10 grandchildren, 12 great grandchildren and a great great grandson. The McLaughlin family welcomes friends and loved ones to celebrate Agnes’ life at the Magoun-Biggins Funeral Home, 135 Union St. ROCKLAND on Tuesday, March 16, 2010 at 10:00 AM. A Funeral Mass will follow at 11:00 AM in Holy Family Church in Rockland. Burial will be in Holy Family Cemetery.

PAMELA GUYER'S EULOGY FOR HER GRANDMOTHER!

• Today we celebrate the life of my grandmother, Agnes Fanning McLaughlin. The one thing she had and we so treasure is the gift of years. She was 99 years old, and would have turned 100 this June.

• She is one of only a few who would live to see:

o 18 presidents take office. o She would live through 6 US wars. o She holds the distinct honor of actually seeing the Red Sox win 6 World Series Titles. o She would grow up to experience the birth of aviation, see a man go to the moon, see an icon performer do the moon walk and she would play wii bowling in her living room.

• It is amazing to think of the historical events, the decades of change that she witnessed--it truly is remarkable. However, today, we celebrate the most remarkable part of it all, her amazing life and the family that she created.

• Born in 1910, she was one of 11 siblings in a close knit Irish/Catholic family raised in South Boston .

• As a young lady, Grammy was beautiful, talented, and made for the stage. She performed with her sisters, named "The Lee Sisters" and was featured singing on Boston radio stations in the 1930's.

• She was a modern day woman in her day, she did not marry until the age of 38, when she married the love of her life, John also known as Grampy. As I had lunch with her one day, she talked about how much she loved Grampy and how he was the love of her life (she lit up when she spoke about him).

• She has ALWAYS been a women who knows what she wants, and John C. McLaughlin was on her short list of "wants". My big sister Susan told me not to share this, but I can't resist because this captures the feisty & deliberate spirit of my grandmother..... when they (Grammy and Grampy) worked together at RH Sterns Department Store, Grammy not only hung her coat next to his, but cleverly hung her coat over the gal that Grampy was courting!!!!!!!! Girl was out and Grammy was "in" and sure enough, she captured his heart forever! YOU GO GIRL!!!!!!!

• Agnes and John would have 3 children together and I believe this was her true pride and joy, in addition to being "Grammy" to all of us.

• She had the blessing of a daughter she referred to as "Sweet Jane". Grammy and mom were close and this relationship would play an important role in her life, Jane was dedicated to taking care of her mother which was surely demanding at times. They say sons go off to be with their wives and daughters stand by their mothers, this is certainly true for Grammy (although her boys were by her side too). Mom took care of Grammy on a daily basis, either by phone or in person, shopping, going to appointments and taking such incredible care of her for almost 40 years. Grammy was so proud of her daughter, not only for how special she was as a girl, but because of the woman she had grown to be. Jane would give birth to 5 babies, which gave birth to Agne's role as a grandmother! Jane would go on to define "motherhood" and took on this role with abandon, she was born to breed and to dedicate her life to raising children, creating a happy home and and pouring her heart and soul into her family. Jane's success in life was the golden ring, it was in marriage and family and Grammy was so proud of this (as we all are).

• Grammy was also very proud of her eldest son John, who would have a family of his own, providing Grammy with 5 more loving grandchildren to love and adore. Grammy was so proud of Johnny for many reasons but mostly his success professionally, he was a successful business man and Grammy was so proud of his impressive college education and more importantly, his building a successful firm that would provide incredible opportunities for his expanding family. Every family has an Uncle that everyone goes to for advice, in our family, Uncle Johnny was the man--he was smart, he was accomplished and helped us all personally and professionally.

• They say there is nothing like the baby of the family and as the baby, I have to agree (right mom)!???? Thomas would be Agne's baby boy, a decade younger than the other two, he would bring so much joy to her world. An accomplished artist, Grammy was so proud of Tom's extraordinary talents as she had such an appreciation for the arts. Affectionately calling him her "Thosie", Grammy beamed when she talked about her 50 something year old baby boy! They were close and held a very special mother/son relationship which I know Tom cherishes as much as his mom did.

• Grammy had many interests, the arts, dancing and singing were her passions, she enjoyed her cross world puzzles, reading, and was an avid Red Sox fan which she followed game after game, year after year (needless to say, she was a VERY patient woman)! I was sharing with my husband Charlie her interests, I talked about how much she loved to travel and he responded "travel, Grammy....?" I had to remind my dear husband that he met my grandmother when she was in her late 80's--she HAD traveled quite a bit in her day.

• I had the opportunity in my early 20's to go to NYC with Grammy, we toured all over, shopped, went to a broadway show, had brunch at Tavern on the Green (where we put the little jam jars in our purses). It was like a scene from a movie with the snow falling, bells ringing, I was in awe. She reminded me that any future trips I would make to NYC would never be the same, she was right, what a gift to be in NYC with your grandmother experiencing the magic of the season and the mystery of generations closing the gap of time and trends. It was a gift I didn't know I had at the time, but Grammy knew it and she relished in it-- She had something I did not have, and that was WISDOM.

• What made her heart sing was her large family and this proud mother would also be known to her family as a loving grandmother. She was blessed with:

o 10 grandchildren, o 12 great grandchildren, o and a great "great" grandson. o A five generation blood line would connect one century to the next with the beautiful faces of Fannings, McLaughlins, Mellors and Belsons--the family tree continues to grow and branch out with new names and faces--the tree is beautiful and she is the root of that tree!

• In our family, holidays and traditions are important and Grammy played a big role in many of those gatherings. • She would share funny stories of being a grandmother, specifically the story of her babysitting my brothers Giggie and Kevie (as she called them) at ages 2 and 3, when they locked Grammy inside of the screen porch and ran down the street laughing (and in grammy's words, like little rascals).

• She loved the men and boys in our life, from my dad, her sons and all of the grandsons, they were all teady bears that she hugged with joy. • Grammy also loved her girls! With so many girls, there is such a sisterhood in our family and Grammy loved spending time with her granddaughters and their daughters and of course her most special girl Jane. It was communal for us to spend time around a table, breaking bread, laughing, sharing, talking about history, cute shoes, or pop culture (which she knew more about than me, I would need to read up on People magazine to catch up to Grammy).

• A few months ago, my daugher Kaili was able to perform her dance routines for Grammy in Susan's living room. You would expect Grammy to sit back and just smile, that she did, but she also leaned forward and counted out and explained the steps, and nodded her head in approval that Kaili had talent, and she also gave her the posture look to stand up even taller, her passion for dance was there and her knowledge and sharp mind was inspiring--we started to watch Grammy as much as we watched Kaili. This was one of the very many mother/daughter generational times we all so enjoyed, and will forever cherish!

• She had a very special relationship with 2 people in particular, my sisters Michelle and Susan.

• These relationships are so special largely in part because of the countless things they did for Grammy, and also the wonderful times they spent together over the years--having lunch or a cocktail at dinner, and enjoying the company of each other and keeping that connection strong--they were friends.

• Susan is a Saint for taking Grammy in and caring for her on a daily basis in her home. Grammy adored Susan and her husband Tom and was so grateful to live there, in fact, she said after sleeping there the first night that she had not slept that well in 30 years.

• As Susan would talk about being a mom and talking about giving birth or reflecting about her baby Shelby, Grammy would chime in and tell her birth story and talk about her baby Jane (and would then laugh and comment that her baby was now eligible for social security).

• Which reminds me, Grammy was never about growing old, it took her a while to embrace social security and other benefits of being a senior citizen (she was on the delayed plan, "I will do it when I am ready"!!! She would refer to the seniors as "them", she was not one of them because she had more vitality than some 50 year olds. In fact, she did not like to discuss her age (that is NONE of your business she would declare, and that was that)!

• I know some of you probably think "oh, she was just a few short months away from turning 100". Make no mistake, it is no mistake that my grandmother will not celebrate her 100th birthday, I am sure she did not want to be on the Today Show with her picture and the smuckers ad, clapping and saying "Happy Birthday Agnes"! Poster child "old lady" SHE WAS NOT!

• Vanity was important and she even wore heels into her 80's, took great care of her beautiful skin (with Arbonne products) and continued to have her hair done up to the last week. She was beautiful on the inside and out.

• Known for her beauty, talent, witty sense of humor and grace, Grammy was also a very strong woman--a strong personality, but even stronger was her faith and fortitude. She stood strong in difficult times and would create this example for all women and girls in our family, we were taught by example to be strong and to stand strong. She would demonstrate this over and over by burying her 10 siblings, becoming a widow too early in her life and standing by her daughter as she became a widow early too, and her most difficult time when she locked arms with her lovely daughter in law Judy to bury her beloved son John. Her strong Catholic faith guided her through these difficult times, and gave her hope and glory around ever lasting life.

• While she leaves us for now, we have peace knowing she lived an amazing, long and fulfilling life and is joining her family in heaven and celebrating our family and our close connections. Today, we celebrate all of the roles Grammy played: daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, great great grandmother, friend..... Matriarch! • Grammy: (I will admit this is so Mellor) Can you do me a favor, when you are up there, please give my dad an extra big hug from me and all my brothers and sisters. I can picture him now,

o Ag, first you've gotta get caught up with St. Peter, the best way to get there is through the pearly gates, take a sharp left at the white pillar. Make sure you have a full tank of gas, washer fluid, jumper cables, an extra set of keys and that new fangled thing called a cell phone"--I will meet you right inside the gate, at 7:00am sharp!

• My Dearest Grammy, on behalf of our family, we love you, we miss you, we celebrate you and know you are dancing in heaven.

• For us girls, we celebrate the bond of mothers and daughters, the importance of family, the traditions of gathering, breaking bread, sharing, laughing, loving and connecting. We honor our past, and move into the future with strength, hope and a strong foundation: it is family and you are the brick and our family lines and connections are the mortar.

• I told you this years ago and I will say it again, I hope to grow up to be as beautiful as you! We love you Grammy, we always will!