Patricia M. Vargo, Former Longtime President Of Friends Of Island Beach State Park, Dies At 83

Courtesy of McCriskin-Gustafson Home For Funerals

Patricia (Pat) M. Vargo of Bayville (formerly of South Plainfield) passed away peacefully on December 1, 2016. She was 83.

She was born in Orange, NJ, in 1933 to the late Mary and Irving Freeman. After graduating from North Plainfield High School, she married and raised her family in South Plainfield.

Pat was active in many community activities, including PTA President and started a local Marine Corps “Toys for Tots” drive. She also managed a home-based Christmas gift business and worked at the South Plainfield Reporter as advertising director. Pat was also a member of the South Plainfield Labor Day Parade Committee for 36 years.

Pat then began a 30 year career with the South Plainfield Municipal Court. She was instrumental in modernizing the court and working to elevate the Court Clerk function to Court Administrator. Pat worked with elected officials in writing new state legislation and testifying before the NJ State Assembly and Senate in support of the new laws which when enacted, required training for court workers and acceptance by municipal officials that now provide a greater consistency across the state municipal court system and put the Court Administrator position on par with the other department heads in municipal government.

Pat also served as president of the Municipal Court Administrators Association of NJ for three terms, and founded and served as president of the Middlesex County Municipal Court Administrators for five years. She also served on various state committees for Municipal Courts and Bail Procedures, served on the Middlesex County Committee on Domestic Violence and was a member of the League of Municipalities’ Hometown Security Task Force and the Gang and Youth Violence Task Force. Pat's passion and commitment to the municipal court system earned her many awards and citations over the course of her career.

Upon her retirement, her love of the sea brought Pat to Bayville with its views of the Barnegat Bay, where she joined the Friends of Island Beach State Park. She served as president, organized several Beach Plum Festivals and inspired environmental, business and youth organizations to participate in annual beach grass planting, and other conservation measures to improve this treasured park.

Pat led the development of the “Osprey Cam” in the park, which is used by educational organizations and others to observe the annual cycle of a nesting osprey from rebuilding the nest in early spring to hatchlings and the young birds leaving the nest. All recorded by a camera feed uploaded to the “Friends” web site.

Pat was predeceased by her former husband A. Robert and son James P. Vargo.

She is survived by sons Thomas A. Vargo (companion Jan Rizzo) of Harding, NJ, John R. Vargo (wife Kim) of Brielle, NJ and daughter Kathleen P. Vargo of Bayville, NJ and granddaughters Ellen and Julia.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, December 6, 2016 in the McCriskin - Gustafson Home For Funerals, 2425 Plainfield Avenue South Plainfield, NJ 07080, followed by burial in Holy Redeemer Cemetery, South Plainfield. Family and friends may attend the visitation on Monday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the funeral home. Please see www.mccriskinfuneralhome.com for Patricia's interactive webpage.