Mr Congreve also developed the farm and bred a large dairy herd of Friesian cattle. Garden, nursery and farm have given employment to many, in good times and in bad, and Mr Congreve was respected as an employer who would value and reward loyalty and honest work.
A conscientious member of the Anglican Communion, Mr Congreve devoted considerable financial resources down the years to the improvement of the local churches, in particular Waterford Cathedral and Kilmeaden Parish Church.
Mr Congreve died on 24 May 2011 aged 104, the eighth generation of his family to enhance the life of Waterford. They have well served the family motto: Non moritur cujus fama vivit – “He does not die whose good name lives on.”