Maureen Phyllis Abbott Sutton passed peacefully and painlessly from this life to the next at her home in Scotch Plains, NJ on Monday, June 1 st , 2026, after a seven-year battle with leukemia. She was surrounded by her two daughters and son-in-law when she drew her last breath.

Maureen was born on September 30 th , 1936, at her family’s home in Birmingham, England. Child of Jack and Anita Abbott, she was the fifth of seven siblings and often reminisced about her childhood. She loved to share memories about happy days of playing on the grounds of Cadbury’s chocolate factory, coined” the Factory in a Garden.” Maureen and the other children would wait in eager anticipation for the “crump” cart to roll by in hopes of grabbing a handful of chocolate scraps. Her eyes would light up when she spoke of the “blue carpet” of bluebells in the woods of the Lickey Hills Country Park where her father would take the children on excursions. Additionally, her lifelong passion for literature began at the local library and she had the singular honor of reading through the entire children’s section of books! Not all the memories of childhood were happy. Maureen was one of the many innocent victims caught up in The Blitz of World War II. Memories of the random bombings and the deadly aftermath that became commonplace, were indelibly etched in her mind, as was the terror of fleeing to man-made bomb shelters at all hours. She would recount the scarcity of every kind of supply during the War, even remembering the different colors of the ration books her family relied on. Undergirding the harshness of this period of her life though, Maureen also spoke of how neighbors helped neighbors in the truest sense, with sacrificial kindness and a close sense of community. There is no doubt that this experience helped to shape her into the caring and empathetic person she became.

Maureen always had adventuresome spirit and in 1957, she emigrated to America as a nanny to a family in Bernardsville, NJ. After a year, she moved on to new digs and a new job at Morristown Memorial Hospital’s department of Radiology. Often on her walk to work she would see a tall, dark-haired young man shooting hoops by himself at a local basketball court. In God’s plan, the two were to meet several years later in church and eventually, fall in love and marry. Maureen spent 54 happy years being cherished by Stan and they were the proud and loving parents of two daughters. “Nanny” as she was known to her two grandchildren, was their most ardent supporter. Her love for them was fierce and unconditional.

Maureen served as a pastor’s wife for over 50 years, teaching Bible studies, speaking to Christian women’s groups, and tenderly caring for the congregations that she and Stan served over the years in Ohio, South Dakota, Maine and Westfield, NJ. Maureen also carried on a rich counseling ministry since the late 1960s and helped to guide countless people with her godly wisdom. As if all that wasn’t enough, Maureen spent many years as a professor of British Literature at Kean University. She also regularly taught counseling courses at Philadelphia College of the Bible (PCB) and New York School of the Bible (NYSB). She was endlessly devoted to her family, church family and the larger family of God’s Kingdom. This was because her strong and unwavering faith and trust in God were the central organizing principles of Maureen’s life.

Maureen is survived by her two daughters, Susan Sutton Wolf (William) and Virginia Sutton as well as her grandchildren Justin Wolf and Chelsea Wolf Hand (Benjamin), her sisters Wendy Bousfield and Jacquelyn Mak of England and her sister- in-law Pauline Abbott of New Zealand, along with many nephews, nieces and cousins.

A Memorial Service is planned for Saturday, June 13th, at 11am at St. Luke’s Reformed Episcopal Church, 260 South Street, New Providence, NJ 07974.

These Scripture verses were especially meaningful to Maureen in later years . . .

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him Who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all Creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:37-39