Jacqueline Marie Dugan, 'a very strong woman,' dies at 70

IT WAS a formal ceremony. Hundreds of people were on hand at City Hall for the swearing-in of judges. But Patrick Dugan, being sworn in as a Municipal Court judge that day in 2007, saw the occasion as an opportunity to express his love and gratitude to the one person he believed was most responsible for his achievement: his mother.

Jacqueline Marie Dugan had recently been diagnosed with lung cancer and had begun chemotherapy, and Judge Dugan could be forgiven for being overwhelmed with the emotions he felt.

"I was very proud and happy to be able to use that forum to tell my mother how much of a hero she was to me," he said. "It was a blessing to be able to speak on behalf of our family, to tell her how much I loved her in front of hundreds of people."

Jacqueline Dugan, who had raised five children, mostly as a single mother, a woman of enormous generosity who overcame tragedies that might have staggered a weaker person, died Sunday. She was 70 and was living in the Far Northeast but had grown up and lived most of her life in Fairmount.

She had battled cancer for four years. She had bounced back so many times that a grandson, Andrew Sigl, 17, expressed the feelings of the family when he said he couldn't believe she had died.

"I just expected her to be OK," Andrew said. "She always came back from that. I expected her to get up."

Even after her first heart attack the day she died, Jacqueline's thoughts were only about how to help another grandson, Adam Maqboul, 15, pay for a church trip to Spain this summer.

"She battled that disease tooth and nail," Patrick Dugan said. "It was an amazing battle for her. She was actually cancer-free, but her heart gave out."

Former Gov. Ed Rendell, a family friend, called Jacqueline the "Jackster."

"The Jackster was one tough, courageous woman and a super-great mother," he said. "She was never afraid to let me know how she felt. She will be missed."

Jacqueline worked for 13 years at a job that suited her compassionate nature and her desire to help people, especially the vulnerable young and those who had made mistakes in life.

She was employed by Shalom Inc., which provides counseling and treatment in a variety of spheres. She worked mostly with people who had been arrested for driving intoxicated and were sent to the program by the courts.

She conducted classes and reported to the courts the successes or failures of her charges. She also participated in Shalom's educational puppet shows for school students, using the puppets to teach lessons about life, the dangers they might face in the outside world, and the advantages of education. "She loved it," her son said.

Jacqueline was born in Philadelphia to Alice Kane and Francis "Shacky" Kane. She graduated from John W. Hallahan Catholic Girls High School, and received a degree from Hahnemann University in drug-and-alcohol counseling.

In her earlier years, she had worked as a bartender at the old Parkway Room, 22nd and Spring Garden streets; as a waitress; as an employee of TastyKake and as a bank teller, all in the name of providing a better life for her children. Although Jacqueline was the oldest of six children, she lost three siblings, as well as a son, Jimmy, who died at the age of 22 from melanoma.

"She survived a life of many obstacles," Patrick Dugan said. "There was one tragedy after another. She was a very strong woman."

She also had a sense of humor. A loyal fan of the local sports teams, she allowed her son, the future judge, to cut school to attend the parade celebrating the Flyers' winning the 1974 Stanley Cup. Her note to the teacher read: "Please excuse my son for being absent yesterday. He had Flyers' fever."

Jacqueline also is survived by three daughters, Michelle Magboul, a teacher; Dawn Dugan, who arranges political events, including those for Rendell, former President Bill Clinton and former Vice President Al Gore, and Melissa Fusetti, who works in the court system; a brother, William Kane; a sister, Sandra Tambarello; 14 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Services: Funeral Mass 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Martin of Tours Church, Roosevelt Boulevard and Cheltenham Avenue.

Friends may call at 6 p.m. tomorrow at Dinan Funeral Home, 1921 Spring Garden St., and at 9 a.m. at the church. Burial will be in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Cheltenham.