Rutgers School of Nursing associate dean dies after battling cancer

Maureen Esteves, an associate dean in the School of Nursing, died Monday after losing her six-year battle with cancer.

Esteves held a strong commitment to providing students with meaningful educational experiences and gave her time generously, said Denise Santangelo, a senior administrative assistant in the School of Nursing.

Santangelo had known Esteves for 16 years, she said.

“Behind her warm heart and quiet demeanor Dean Esteves was a positive thinker and a concerned administrator whose heart understood the stresses of nursing students' academic experiences,” Santangelo said. “Her door was always open to her students, and she was warm, genuine and respected by students, faculty and staff alike.”

The dean had been recognized for her extraordinary work by the March of Dimes, who named her as one of their nurses of the year in 2014, according the the group’s website.

Esteves is survived by her husband, Raymond Esteves, her son, Matthew Esteves, and her siblings, Michelle Brady, Laurence DeMaio, Diane Feldman and James DeMaio.

She was preceded in death by her father, Laurence DeMaio, who died late last year.

“Though she is gone, and I will miss her greatly, I would have been far worse off never having known her at all, because she was that good a person,” Santangelo said. “The University is at a great loss because she was that good at what she did.”

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Nikita Biryukov is a School of Arts and Sciences junior majoring in journalism and media studies. He is an associate news editor for The Daily Targum. Follow him on Twitter @nikitabiryukov_ for more.