Maureen Ann Connor-Carlson, 69, passed away on January 27, 2025, at Temecula Valley Hospital due to complications from pneumonia.

Born in Darby, PA, Maureen—affectionately known as “Mo”—was a beloved wife, mother, sister, and educator. She was the eldest child of John and Mary Connor and the older sister of Michael. Mo graduated from Alverno Heights Academy (now Alverno High School) in Sierra Madre, Calif, before earning her degree in Childhood Development from California State University, Los Angeles. She went on to complete her master’s degree and teaching credential with an emphasis in Special Education and Child Development. A passionate advocate for children with special needs, Mo was an expert in the field of Autism Spectrum Disorders, becoming a champion and advocate for special education teachers and students alike. She would work for several school districts and become an adjunct professor at Azusa Pacific University in Azusa, Calif.

While special education was her vocation, music was her passion. A gifted singer, Mo taught herself to play the guitar at age 11 and joined the liturgical group at St. Dorothy’s Parish in Drexel Hill, PA, just a few years later. Music—especially playing for Sunday Mass—would become a foundational cornerstone of her life.

After college, Mo moved to Claremont, California, to be closer to her parents and brother Mike who happened to be on a bowling team with Brian Carlson, the music minister at Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Church in Claremont. Brian was immediately smitten by Mo’s ethereal voice and polished musicianship. What began as an invitation to join the church group blossomed into a deep friendship and, eventually, a lifelong romance. Mo and Brian were married on July 17, 1984.

Together, they traveled across Southern California, performing at weddings, celebrations, and funerals. Mo’s voice would effortlessly dance across the higher registers making it a perfect foil for Brian’s Irish tenor. (“She sounds just like Judy Collins” Brian would often say.) Her signature song was a profoundly moving rendition of Ave Maria, which she performed at the funerals of both her father, John Connor, and her father-in-law, Andrew Carlson. Brian recalls a singular performance in a small A-frame church in Lake Tahoe, Calif—just as Mo reached the crescendo, the clouds parted and sunlight streamed through the windows.

Mo’s greatest joy came with the birth of her two sons: Daniel Louis Carlson on April 22, 1985, and Andrew John Carlson on November 2, 1987. In 1996, the family moved to the growing community of Temecula, where Mo worked for the Temecula Valley School District until her retirement in 2017.

In retirement, she indulged in her newfound interest in gluten-free cooking and her lifelong devotion to the Philadelphia Phillies. Though she had left Philadelphia as a child, the City of Brotherly Love never left her heart. If her favorite 1970s songwriters—Elton John, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Phil Collins, Neil Diamond, and John Denver— weren’t playing in the house, then it was the Phillies game supplying the soundtrack to her life.

Mo is survived by her loving husband, Brian Carlson; her son, Andrew Carlson; and her brother, Mike Connor and family. She will be remembered by countless friends, in-laws, nieces, and nephews for her beautiful voice, the way she adored her sons, her love for animals, her service to the Catholic Church, and her unwavering support for special education teachers and their students.

Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Monday, March 24 at Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Church, 435 N. Berkeley Ave., Claremont, CA 91711.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Autism Speaks at  autismspeaks.org, a cause close to her heart.

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