Agnes Evelyn Szwec, 98, of Milford, Hunterdon County, passed away on April 30 at her home.
Her long history of community service included 37 years on the Milford Board of Education.
Agnes was born on Nov. 16, 1920 in Bridgeton Township, Upper Black Eddy, Pa. She graduated from Frenchtown High School in 1938 and from Westchester State Teachers’ College in 1942. Agnes taught at the Holland Township School from 1942 to 1952 and the Lester D. Wilson Elementary School in Alexandria Township from 1966 to 1988.
She was the organist at St. Edward the Confessor R.C. Church in Milford, N.J., for 71 years, directed both adult and children’s choirs, and sang in the Diocesan Festival Choir. She was a charter member of the Sodality of the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1945, a Rosary Altar Society member since 1949, church historian, and trustee.
She also chaired and worked at numerous fundraisers for the church and community. The parish recognized her many contributions with awards in 2004 and 2015. Agnes also received the Diocesan Regina Nostra Medal for “outstanding service to God and His people.”
In 1945, the U.S. Department of Treasury recognized Agnes for chairing the sale of war bonds. Other community service included 37 years on the Milford School Board, Milford Women’s Club, Milford Centennial Committee, and the Jennie Haver Scholarship Committee. She was a charter member of the Delta Kappa Gamma (Rho Chapter) education sorority, lifetime NJEA member, and Hunterdon County Retired Educators’ Association.
Her hobbies included playing piano, pinochle, knitting, sewing, and watching Mets’ games. In addition to these many accomplishments, Agnes was renowned for her prize-winning apple and coconut-cream pies.
Daughter of the late Jerome and Emma (Fitzgerald) Moninghoff, Agnes is survived by her five sons: Bernard Szwec and his wife, Jeanne, David Szwec, and Gregory Szwec, all of Milford, N.J.; Robert Szwec and Kathy Ponton of Blythewood, S.C., and Jeffrey Szwec and his wife, Cindy, of Marietta, Ga.; her two daughters, Kathleen Baker and her husband, Leon “Butch” of Howe, Ind., and Anne MacConochie and her husband, Frank, of Norfolk, Va.; her brother, Gerald Moninghoff and his wife, Karen, of Oxford, N.J.; and her two sisters-in-law, Nancy Moninghoff and Mary Szwec.
She also leaves 13 grandchildren. She was predeceased by her beloved husband, Bronislaus “Barney” G. Szwec, in 1985; her grandson, Kenneth Szwec, and her brothers, James, William, Robert, and John “Jack” Moninghoff.
Funeral services were held on May 6 at the Johnson-Walton Funeral Home in Milford, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at St. Edward the Confessor Parish Center in Milford, NJ. Interment followed at the St. Philip and St. James Cemetery in Greenwich Township, N.J.
Memorial contributions may be made to St. Edwards’ Agnes E. Szwec Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 392, Milford, NJ 08848.
For more information or to send online condolences, please visit JohnsonWalton.com.