When Margaret “Peggy” Najar died after a long bout with illness in 2008, her husband, John, was determined to find a way to continue the work she loved best: ministering to the sick and dying within the framework of faith.

After some serious consideration, Najar, a Manasquan resident and member of St. Denis Parish, there, set about to raise the seed money which would enable the diocese to establish a new mission for the sick and dying named “The Peggy Najar Pastoral Care Endowment Fund,” in honor of his late wife.

On March 5, that dream came a step closer to reality when Najar presented a check for $25,000 to Stephen Nicholl, diocesan  director of Development. The presentation took place in the Manasquan Savings Bank where the endowment will be administered.

Diocesan Chancellor Anthony Mingarino said the endowment reflects the long tradition in the  Catholic Church of providing pastoral care “for those at the end of life’s journey.

“Of equal importance, is the availability of loving and caring Catholic volunteers who provide comfort and solace for those who have experienced a loss,” Mingarino said.

“This endowment is not only a lasting memorial to Peggy Najar but will eventually provide the funding necessary to train those interested in pastoral care.”

When the endowment becomes functional, it will start funding scholarships for those wanting to minister to the sick and dying, Najar said. It’s his dream that by way of the fund, those who are as devoted to hospice care as his wife was will be able to secure scholarships and educational materials in the area of hospice, bereavement, consolation and counseling.

Najar said his wife became committed to the concept of bringing comfort and consolation to those afflicted with grave illness and back in the early ‘80s and volunteered to create and co-direct the Camillus Hospice and Respite program of St. Martha Parish, Point Pleasant.

The Monitor reported back then that the volunteers, who received 20 hours of training from Peggy and her co-director Mary Hogan, were matched with clients of similar interests and spent several hours each week in home visits to them.

Although most of the home visits were made to cancer patients, The Monitor noted that Camillus volunteers offered help to all terminally ill patients, including victims, back then of a new scourge: AIDS and HIV. In 1987, this early forerunner of what has come to be known as pastoral care, would expanded under the guidance of the Trenton Diocese.

The Monitor reported that the volunteers made comforting and consoling home visits throughout Monmouth and Ocean counties, often at the behest of several area hospitals whose own volunteers were not allowed to follow the critically ill patients home.

Though Peggy Najar, who was also a gifted poet, some of whose writings appear in the International Library of Poetry, suffered from ill health for many years, shortly before her death, she reached out to the Community Hospice of Greenwood House, a home for Jewish aged. “Peggy started writing their newsletter and then sharing her expertise in pastoral care,” John Najar said.  “She received an award on May 1, 2008 and passed away June 22.

“Members of the Greenwood House were so grateful for her help,” he said. “They met with my family and informed them that Peggy’s name would appear on their Tree of Life in Greenwood House. It was a great honor for her and our family.”

 “My purpose in establishing this endowment is to honor the love I have for my wife Peggy and those in the hospice program she helped,” said Najar.

For more information about the Peggy Najar Hospice Endowment Fund, contact the Manasquan Savings Bank, 185 Main Street, Manasquan.