Mary Gager

Mary Sophie Zinkowicz Gager passed away on Sunday, April 28th. She is
survived by her adoring son Arthur of Beverly and her beloved brother
Mathew Zenkowich in Cinnaminson.

Mary was born in Newark, NJ, immigrated with her parents and brothers
John and Matt to Lithuania where she received her education. Mary
returned to the U.S. in her teens and lived with her aunt, Mary Platner,
in Burlington where she worked to bring her brothers back to America.
She married the late Alvin Crane Gager in 1941. They lived at 212
Warren St. where they had their only child, Arthur, in 1942. In the mid
forties the couple bought their home at 55 Warren where Mary has lived
ever since. MSG was 98 years of age upon her demise and was active
shopping, cooking, housekeeping and pursuing all of her other interests
throughout her ninety seventh year.

Having experienced life in the old country, Mary was particularly proud
and grateful to be an American citizen, and was very civically minded.
She was a Cub Scout den mother, a Red Cross Fund Drive Captain, head of
Beverly Welfare eventually becoming head of Burlington County Welfare in
Mt. Holly, co-edited and was a major driving force of the 1976
bicentenial publication “A History of Beverly” (she was also a flapper
dancing the Charleston at the riverfront festivities), a while ago she
missed being elected to the Beverly City Council by 4 votes (out of a
couple thousand), got an honorary mention in the 1993 Senior Mrs. USA
contest in Atlantic city, a member of the Paragraph Club, a member of
the Beverly City Planning board and fluent in three languages (English,
Polish and Lithuanian). Mary traveled throughout the world, was an avid
gardener (it was frequently commented that her home looked like a doll’s
house), was an expert seamstress producing world class scarves, loved
the Lawerence Welk show, was proud to display her doll collection, kept
her home and all her affairs in fastidiously good order, was a devoted
mother and wife, was blessed by the late Pope John Paul in the Vatican,
was a faithful lifelong Roman Catholic and member of Saint Joe’s parish
in Beverly.

Mary is irreplaceable and will be sorely missed by her family and
friends and neighbors. May she rest in peace. Memorial to be
announced.