Mother and daughter killed in Hazlet blaze laid to rest
HOLMDEL−She was remembered as a dedicated public servant who showed fierce love for her family including the "feisty" and "spunky" daughter that she tried to save from a burning building.
Jacqueline Montanaro ran through her family’s blazing Hazlet home on Jan. 13 to rescue her younger daughter Madelyn. Jacqueline, 40, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer, and the 6-year-old girl known as Mady, died of their injuries at local hospitals the following day.
On Friday, some 500 people turned out for their funeral at St. Benedict R. C. Church in Holmdel.
Jacqueline’s other daughter and Madelyn’s 8-year-old sister, Elena, stood near the front of the procession of family members entering the church, clutching a stuffed animal - a teddy bear wearing a Customs and Border Protection uniform.
A large group of Jacqueline’s fellow officers from the federal agency were among more than 200 uniformed officers who were present, including about 75 motorcycle cops from across North Jersey who escorted the procession to and from the church
“Mady had that little sister’s feisty sense of humor, inquisitiveness and the intuition to look after her big sister when she was sad and needed a friend or playmate,” The pastor of St. Benedict, Father Garry Koch, said. “A young girl who looked up to not only her sister but especially her mother. In Jacqueline she had a mom who worked hard and was deeply committed to the welfare of our country and the protection of families.”
Amid the solemn occasion, Jaqueline’s husband and the children’s father, William, shared warm memories of his wife and family.
He and his wife seemed "destined" to be together: unknown to them at the time, as children, they both played on the same streets in Flushing, Queens when Jacqueline came from New Jersey to visit family. She later served as a resident assistant at the University of Delaware along with William's brother, a fact not known until after he met her.
"One of the craziest things in the world to me was that my brother had a photo on his bookcase in our home years before I knew Jackie. She was in that photo with my brother, RAs together" he said.
Instead of a tale of missed connections, when William met the young customs officer while he was heading up the Explorer Scouts program in New York City, which brought him in touch with law enforcement officials, they kept running into each other at key moments, he said.
"I decided this woman was an angel and that she was going to do everything for me," he said. "She did everything with dedication, with strength and perseverance. She knew what she had to do and she knew how to get it done. Always humble, never wanted to take advantage of anything.”
His younger daughter kept the family laughing, he said.
“Mady was smart, strong, spunky, very witty, quick with an answer, quick to make a joke, quick to make us laugh, quick to wink,” he said. “For those who had met Madelyn and had not met her (before) you would know that if you were with her for five days she’d be in your heart forever.”
He shared a personal story about the struggles Jacqueline and he first experienced in conceiving a child and then directed his comments to Elena.
"We had a lot of difficulties, but we wanted you so bad that we had a miracle and we were able to have you," he said. "You were first to us. You're always first to me. And I'm going to always, always be there for you. A shoulder to cry on."
Ken Serrano covers breaking news, crime and investigations. Reach him at 732-643-4029 or at kserrano@gannettnj.com.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Funeral held for Hazlet NJ mother, daughter killed in house fire
