Maurine Magliocco of Quincy passed away Thurs, July 30th at Blessing Hospital, surrounded by family and holding her grandson’s hand.

Maurine was born on October 15, 1944, in Quincy, Illinois, to Maurice and Maxine (Wessel) Fisk. She graduated from Quincy Senior High School in 1962, excelling in reading and writing, with a curiosity and comprehension not often seen. Fortunately, a teacher named Marjorie Bolt, seeing the possibility of a bright and influential future, demanded she apply to Quincy College for scholarships and tuition aid. Finances were tough for most families in postwar Quincy, and the cost of higher education seemed out of reach for parents and their high school kids. As well as being the first in her family to go to college, in the early ‘60s it was rare for any woman to go to college, let alone one from a family who couldn’t afford the extra costs on their own. Despite the roadblocks, Maurine’s mother Maxine drove her to Quincy College and got her a scholarship. Little did anyone know the force that they had just unleashed into the world.

Once at Quincy College, Maurine flourished academically and took great interest in the early British Masterworks of Chaucer, Shakespeare, and especially John Milton. She was mentored well by her Franciscan English faculty and learned to blend her Catholic church relationship with her relentless curiosity. She loved Quincy College so much that when she returned in her later years, was on the board of POLIS, or the pursuit of living in society, for opportunities for lifelong learning. Upon graduating in 1966, she was accepted to the English department graduate program at Western Illinois University in Macomb. Il. She met Hugo Magliocco in grad school there, one of the first of the music faculty class that put WIU music on the map. Ten years her senior, Hugo had established himself well in the music and arts community. While meeting with old and new friends, Maurine found herself also welcome amongst Hugo’s contemporaries. Having somewhat of a short romance, Hugo proposed, and they were married on Hugo’s birthday, August 19th of 1967.

It was at Western when Maurine Magliocco really started to make an impact. Hugo had enough sense to let her flourish, and despite not really needing it, she appreciated and sometimes leaned on his support. Times were tense in the US at the time. Many young men were being drafted and sent to an unpopular war, and although the Voting Rights Act had just been passed two years prior, there was a wave of civil unrest in the country, and on many college and university campuses nationwide. Maurine would later tell of times she was begged by a male student or two to give them a passing grade in fear of being drafted after failing out of school.

Always striving for more to learn and accomplish, Maurine began setting her sights on anything she saw as an undue hindrance to women and minorities. This became an unwavering standard throughout her life. Educationally, she and Hugo both decided to pursue their doctoral degrees at the University of Oklahoma in Norman, the school they felt best met both of their needs in order to complete their doctoral work. It was there that Maurine really poured herself into her studies. Writing her dissertation on the function of humor in the works of John Milton, Maurine kept showing the world that she could do anything.

After leaving OU in 1975 with a Ph. D for Maurine and a Doctor of Music for Hugo, the couple returned to WIU, their home until Maurine retired from teaching in December of 2004. It was during this time that she made her presence felt not only in Simpkins Hall, the English building, but all the way to the top of University administration. Establishing themselves in the community, it was in 1977 that they brought their only child, Peter, into their busy lives. Thankfully, Simpkins and Browne Hall, the music building, were in proximity as Peter was raised in both, being the child of two determined and dedicated educators and a mother who was a force of nature when it came to fighting for equity and fairness. Keeping that fighting spirit active, Maurine was the architect and developer of The Women’s Center at WIU, literally breaking bones to get it going. She served as the first director of the Women’s Center starting in 1986, ushering in inclusivity for women in academia, adding to the already existing Western Organization of Women, or WOW. These actions of these women helped develop new courses, like women’s studies, filling a huge gap in equity of representation not only academically, but on a social level.

Maurine had such tenacity and might in challenging inequality and injustice that she was extremely active in the University Professionals of Illinois as well as the American Federation of Teachers, both Unions for workers in education. She was president of the WIU chapter sometime in the late 1980s, and in 1990 she led the union as they negotiated their first individual contract with WIU. She trained with leaders of the Harvard Negotiation Project, and wrote a new contract from scratch with her trusted friends and like-minded colleagues. She was an absolute model of Union solidarity, setting new standards for negotiation of contract issues. She later returned to the position of Union President again in 1997-2003, continuing to build a stronger Union, fighting for better contracts, health care, and protecting university professionals who may have faced unfair or unjust treatment. Following her retirement, she and Hugo moved to Springfield, where she could continue lobbying for the Unions, higher education, and health care, serving as the vice president of UPI retirees from 2007-2015, and the education task force chair for the Faith Coalition For The Common Good.

It was in Springfield that Maurine and Hugo became Grandma and Grandpa. In October of 2010, their one son became a father of one son, Dorian Hugo Magliocco. The bond with her grandbaby was so strong and lasting that it was his hand she was holding as she took her last breath. Maurine loved her grandson immensely, and spoke of him to whoever would listen. It was also in Springfield where Maurine was diagnosed with cervical cancer, which she beat with surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation, proving once again her resilience and stubborn desire to keep doing more and helping more.

After some tough conversations with her son regarding Hugo’s advancement in age following a triple bypass surgery, the couple moved to Quincy to be close to not only their son and grandson, but Maurine’s sister Carol, her husband Denny, and their four children and many grandchildren. It was strange to be back in her hometown, but Maurine quickly met people and continued her desire to keep her mind sharp, joining and even starting several discussion groups at the Quincy Public Library like Candid Conversations and Socrates Café. She also stayed active with the Union and local Democratic Party, where she helped out anywhere she could, offering her expert advice or just an ear, especially when it came to organizing, a particular strength of hers. She kept inspiring people to get up and get educated, to fight for what’s right and to be supportive of her fellow humans until her final second, and for generations to come. She made a positive impression on all she met, and both she and Hugo enjoyed their time in Quincy with the people they loved. Following Hugo’s death in 2024, Maurine found solace in her family, friends, and community, but especially in her beloved grandson, Dorian.

It cannot be overstated how incredible a person Maurine Magliocco was. The lives she touched through all of her Union work, the young minds she helped shape through teaching her love of groundbreaking literature, and the relentless fight for equal rights and equity for women and minorities. She stood for something. She leaves a gigantic crater, but the sweetest mark on the world.

Maurine is survived by her son Pete, and his son Dorian, as well as Pete’s Partner Virginia Mueller, all of Quincy. Her sister Carol, and brother-in-law Dennis Klues, and their four children, Amy (Todd) Triplett and their sons Carson, Ayden, and Owen. Jeff (Joy) Klues and son, Dalton. Jennifer Klues and sons Jonah and Zander White. Randy (Maureen) Klues and Randy’s son Brady, all of Quincy, but cousins and other loved ones everywhere.

She was preceded in death by her father Maurice and mother Maxine.

Maurine received cremation rites, with ashes to be laid to rest with her husband in Calvary Cemetery in Quincy. A visitation will be held at Duker and Haugh Funeral Home in Quincy on Thursday, August 13th from 4- 7 pm, with a Catholic Funeral Mass at St Peter church in Quincy on Friday, August 14th at 10 am. Memorials are suggested to the Quincy Public Library and Quincy Public Schools Music Program. Service arrangements are with the Duker and Haugh Funeral Home.