Aileen Cecilia Rodrigues

Aileen has joined her husband George, their family, and their friends, to whom she was known as Sister Margaret, as they raise a glass and sing the old songs she loved around a celestial piano.

Born and raised in a bustling Irish family, the Loftuses, with five brothers and a sister in Brooklyn, New York (which she always claimed as her home town and never completely lost the accent). She loved the summers her family spent at Rockaway Beach and would share the joy of swimming with her kids. She was a member of St. Brenden’s High School varsity basketball team that once played in the old Madison Square Garden. She and George were high school sweethearts and lifelong partners, marrying as soon as he graduated. Soon after he left military service, Aileen accompanied her husband to the rural south of the 1950’s where they raised six children in Washington, Georgia. A devout Catholic, she took an active part in the parish community and sent her children to St. Joseph’s school. Aileen was a den mother and troop leader when her children were scouts and ferried kids to ball practice.

Once her children were all in school, Aileen finished her education with a bachelor’s and master’s of education and began a career as a teacher at Washington-Wilkes middle school, a vocation she passed on to both her daughters. After twenty-five years in Washington, Aileen and George migrated to the Space Coast of Florida where she taught school at the Florida Air Academy and lived near her beloved seaside. She found a spiritual home in the Holy Name of Jesus community where she volunteered in the thrift shop and gave respite to caregivers around Satellite Beach. Swimming was a regular activity except when it got really cold. Most recently a resident of Iris Place in Athens, GA, Aileen was known by the retirement community’s residents for her wry sense of humor and her devotion to family.

Aileen is survived by brothers Jack and Vinnie (Laurie), children George and Fran, Michael and Susan, Barbara and Patty, Peter and Sheryl, John and Vicki and Elizabeth and Alison; grandchildren Megan (Matt), Lauren (Tyler), Andrew, Joseph, Kirstin (Ethan), Krista, David; great-grandchildren Devan, Austin, Madison, Michael, Hudson, Audrey, Garrett, Camilla and Violet; and great-great grandchildren Serenity and Lukas.

A memorial service will be held on Thursday, June 13, in the chapel of Holy Name of Jesus of Jesus Catholic Community, Indialantic, FL, at 11:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Holy Name School Endowment, 3060 N Hwy A1A, Indialantic, FL 32903.

Lord and Stephens Funeral Home, WEST, Watkinsville, GA, is in charge of arrangements. www.lordandstephens.com