Obituary of Monica Margaret Glattly

Monica Margaret Glattly (McGrath) passed away peacefully on September 13, 2023, with her loving husband, Dave, and her adoring son, Matt, at her side. Monica resided in the Southern Dunes Golf Community in Haines City, Florida, and was 59 years old. She was born in Brooklyn and resided in Wayne, Haledon and Hawthorne, New Jersey, most of her life.

Monica leaves behind her husband of 33 years, David A. Glattly, of Haines City, FL; a son, Matthew, of Haines City, FL; and a daughter, Jessica, of Maple Shade, NJ. Her siblings are James McGrath (Marion), of Lakewood Ranch, FL; Kathy Eberly Ovitt (Terry), of Palm Harbor, FL; Ann Marie McGrath (Patrice), of Wayne, NJ; and Janine Maris of Hamburg, NJ. She is pre-deceased by sister Sharon McGrath. She leaves seven nephews and two nieces, and their families, as well as several cousins. Monica is pre-deceased by her parents, James and Josephine (Cardi) McGrath.

Monica was a fun loving caring person who always put others needs ahead of her own, and loved being with her family. She enjoyed hosting big parties making all of the delicious food herself. No party was too large for her to undertake! She was legendary for her lasagna and her chicken parmigiana. When not cooking, she enjoyed gardening, doing puzzles, walking, reading and crocheting baby blankets for the newborns of friends.

Monica’s passion in life, besides caring for her children, was being by Dave’s side in all of his Masonic adventures. She was right there with him for their support of Clifton DeMolay, Clifton Masonic Lodge (NJ), New Jersey DeMolay, the Grand Lodge of New Jersey, and New Jersey Scottish Rite. She was a very supportive First Lady to New Jersey Scottish Rite when Dave was elected and served as the Deputy for New Jersey for nine years. Upon Dave’s election as the Sovereign Grand Commander of the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction for Scottish Rite in the USA, Monica stepped up to the plate once again and became a most amazing First Lady of the organization. She traveled to many exciting locations with Dave throughout the United States and internationally. She left her personal mark with many Scottish Rite members and ladies throughout the Scottish Rite Valleys of the Northern Jurisdiction. Internationally, Monica simply charmed the Scottish Rite leaders of the world in cities that included Bucharest, Berlin, Rome, Geneva and Bern. Her other travels with Dave included London, Lisbon, Paris, and most recently, Amsterdam. She loved to travel!

During her tenure as the First Lady of the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, she started the White Flower Society, a charitable fund to support the widows of Masons. She knew that the social activities of Masonic couples centered around other Masonic families and activities. When the husband passes, many times the widow has lost all of her social life. The White Flower Society was designed to support the widow, financially and socially, to help her feel at home with the Masonic family. Monica was extremely proud of this accomplishment.

Monica was a member of Peace Chapter, Order of Eastern Star, in Clifton, NJ, and a member of the Southern Dunes Golf Club. She was at her happiest leading the ladies group at the Valley of Northern NJ Scottish Rite in Lincoln Park. Monica holds several distinguished awards and honors from DeMolay, Masonry and Scottish Rite. Her greatest honor, however, was making so many friends throughout the country and the world. Her true wealth in life was having so many caring friends.

Monica was a graduate of Wayne Valley High School, Wayne, New Jersey, and attended Stockton State College, now Stockton University, in Galloway, New Jersey. Professionally, Monica was the business manager of the Hawthorne Public Library, until her retirement to serve with her husband at his position as Sovereign Grand Commander, which required a move to Lexington, Massachusetts. She retired with Dave in 2021 and found their retirement home in Florida.

In her recent years in retirement in Florida, her joy was going out to lunch with Dave, and then following with pool time in the afternoon. She truly loved her Florida home and enjoyed decorating it to make it such a comfortable place to live. When Matt moved in, she was beyond excited to share time with her son. Matt and Monica spent many evenings laughing, sharing stories, watching Matt’s videos and Matt teaching her about Rap artists and music.

Monica left this earth doing exactly what she wanted to do enjoying life. Dave lost the true love of his life and Matt lost his best friend. Rest in peace sweet lady. You touched many lives in your lifetime.

Per Monica’s wishes, she was cremated and she requested no services. There will be a celebration of life for Monica in the spring in New Jersey.