Maureen Patricia Mcgrath

MAUREEN PATRICIA MCGRATH Maureen Patricia McGrath - aka "Mauriepat," "Mapa," and "Mo" was born August 21, 1951. A graduate of NU and a student at UOP, she was fiercely countercultural and was never afraid to poke the hornets' nest. She traveled to India in college and brought home a souvenir which advanced the silver in her father's hair by a decade. She was a devoted 'Deadhead - if asked how many shows she had seen, she would look at you sideways, smile and say something like, "There's no math at a 'Dead show." Mapa expanded many minds, at concerts, and in conversation when she would blend astute commentary, florid profanity and breath-stealing humor, then laugh right along with you. She left us on November 5th to join her father Jack, mother Lu, and sister Colleen in the hereafter, where they finally have a fourth for shuffleboard doubles. Mo was cared for until the end by the unparalleled kindness of her husband Joe Vaspra, an honorary McGrath in perpetuity. Into the great unknown, she precedes siblings Katy, her Irish twin, cross-town support system MaryAnn, Tim, Sal, Peg, Mick, Shannon, Sharon and Dennis, over two dozen nieces and nephews, countless McGrath cousins, uncles, aunts, friends, acquaintances, and neighboring barstool occupants. She dazzled them all whether for 60 years or for a golden moment. Goodbye to the throttler of little sisters who acted up and to the defender of those sisters against everyone else, a nose-breaker and a heartbreaker, a survivor of Mount St. Mary's, master rider of the ATV 3-wheeler, before the cowards at Honda added a fourth, an award winning Gin Fizz chemist, perfecter of the dirty joke, lover of sweet pickles, voracious reader, highway wandering truck driver, co-creator of the prettiest garden east of Chico State, and sufferer of no fools - ever! Goodbye to our sister, our aunt, and friend. A comedienne, a great ally in a scrape, a rebounder - iconoclastic and fantastic! Goodbye, Mauriepat. Or not goodbye. Because we'll keep you in our hearts and minds forever.