“A Teacher Grows in Brooklyn”
Maureen P. (Dougherty) Fraser was born on December 3, 1931, to Mary (May) Callaghan and Joseph P. Dougherty. She was the second of seven children, growing up alongside her brothers Joseph, Gerard, and Robert, and her sisters Regina and Cathleen. She is survived by her beloved sister Regina, with whom she spoke every day, and sometimes more often.

She attended Our Lady of Perpetual Help School in Bay Ridge, and then Fontbonne Hall Academy, a Catholic girl’s high school. Although she initially hoped to attend Fordham University, she accepted a full scholarship to St. Joseph’s College for Women. Her time there was a meaningful and enriching—she majored in English, performed in several plays including a role as Ariel in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which led to an offer to attend summer stock in the Berkshires, which declined at her mother’s urging. She formed lasting friendships with Alice Fraser, Eileen Brown, Helen Mc Grover and Cynthia Preebi. Alice, introduced her to The New York Times and Alice’s cousin,
Duncan A. Fraser, Jr., a young attorney. The seeds to two lifelong love affairs had been planted.

Maureen began her teaching career in a Brooklyn junior high school, where she would later recount many stories about her students with humor and pride. She married Duncan on June 19, and together they raised their five children—Denise, Duncan, Ellen, Donald, and Richard—initially residing on East 10 th Street in Brooklyn and then a
few years later on their beloved East 29th Street. There they made lifelong friendships with many of their neighbors, who were also raising large families with lives centered around Our Lady Help of Christians Church and its parish school. In 1969 the family moved to Garden City, where she lived for the rest of her life.

Maureen fully embraced Garden City life. She joined many civic organizations and became deeply involved in the PTA, organizing luncheons, teas and back to school nights. She enthusiastically attended her children’s school activities and sporting events. She championed all opportunities afforded her children for their educational and
cultural enrichment, always their teacher.

After her children began heading off to college, Maureen returned to teaching full time at Hillcrest High School in Jamaica, Queens. Special Education was her calling. Eventually she became a Resource Room teacher, where she provided steady, one-on-one support to students, helping many reach graduation. She took pride in both her
students’ progress and her own professional accomplishments, earning her master’s degree from Adelphi University along with an additional 30 credits thereafter. She often joked that by the time she retired at 72, she might have been the oldest person in the building. She remained close with many of her colleagues in the years that followed. Upon her retirement, she traveled and was always heading into Manhattan to visit museums, to see a show or to explore a new restaurant. New York City was always her second home.

Maureen and Duncan also spent 60 years in Long Beach, where they had a home on November Walk and were members of the Atlantic Beach Club, enjoying time at the beach with family and friends.

She is survived by her children Denise and her husband Richard Crisona; Ellen and her husband Michael Burns; Donald and his wife Mary Butler; and Richard and his wife Rachel. She was predeceased by her son Duncan. She is also survived by her daughter-in-law Margaret Glenday Fraser. Her grandchildren include Duncan Fraser IV, Kathryn Crisona, Michaela Fraser, Douglas Crisona, Colin Fraser, Madeline Fraser, Adam Fraser, Emily Fraser Burns, Easton Fraser, Mollie Fraser, and Gracie Fraser; and her great-grandchildren Silas Rudolph Crisona, Milo Fraser Kirshbaum, Asa and Frankie Rudolph Crisona, and Nola Fraser Kirshbaum.

Maureen’s life was rooted in family, friendships, and a long career in education, along with a lasting love of Long Beach and time spent by the ocean.

She loved as God loves, boundlessly and endlessly.

Oh Maureen, how we loved you so, ‘twas heaven here with you.