Amityville Record

Barbara Nugent, longtime Amityville resident, at 89



Barbara Nugent

Barbara Nugent

When Barbara Nugent was a young mother, raising her family in Amityville, she suddenly found herself a widow. Her husband Kenneth A. Nugent, a New York City Police Officer, was killed in the line of duty in 1971.

Adding to the devastation of that loss was the reality that, despite the fact that her husband was killed serving the citizens of New York City, she was left with only a minor pension, and without health insurance for herself and her seven children. That set her on a path for the next five decades to bring justice to herself, her family and other widows. She became a founding member of Survivors of the Shield and fought tirelessly for police families. “She was a force to be reckoned with,” said her daughter Kathleen.

Barbara A. Nugent, a longtime resident of Amityville, died suddenly in Virginia on July 14, 2022.  She was 89 years old.

“My mother was a fighter who rarely took no for an answer,” said her son Glenn, an attorney in Amityville Village. “She was dogged in her pursuit and was the anchor that secured our family.”

Kathleen recalls how her mother “set the tone” for her children by showing them the importance of fighting for moral righteousness. “She grieved following the death of my father but following that she worked to figure out what was wrong with the system of the 1970s and set out to make things better not only for our family but for all police families.”

She lobbied local lawmakers and met with Gov. Mario Cuomo. “I remember those trips to Albany,” said her daughter. Today, there is a Survivor of the Shield organization to support families of police officers who are killed in the line of duty in every state.

She also recognized quickly upon her husband’s death that she had to work to support her family. She went to school to become a paralegal, was a self-employed real estate broker and travel agent. “She was tireless,”  said her daughter.

Mrs. Nugent was born on June 4, 1933 in Brooklyn, New York to John and Mary (Fallon) Vogel. 

Survivors include her children Kathleen Nugent of Amityville; Michael and his wife Maryellen of Pocomoke City, Maryland; Kevin and his wife Clare of Amityville; Brian and his wife Patricia of West Babylon; Glenn and his wife Melissa of Amityville; Tara Nugent-Wheeler and her husband Dr. Jeffrey Wheeler of Amityville and Colleen of Amityville; her grandchildren Kristin, Elizabeth, Megan, James, Kenneth, Sean, Bridget, Erin, Mollie, Fallon, Breanne, Padraic, Rori, Emily, Conor, Aidan, Gwyneth, Fiona and Pierce; 16 great-grandchildren and two sisters, Joan Tonnies and Sharon Molteni.  Prayers were conducted at the Powell Funeral Home, 67 Broadway, Amityville on Thurs., July 21 by Deacon Mike Aprile. Monsignor James McNamara officiated at a Mass of Christian Burial at St. Martin of Tours R.C. Church assisted by the Consolation Ministry and members of Barbara’s family the following day. An Honor guard and transportation was provided by the NYPD to the church and the subsequent burial in Amityville Cemetery. 

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