Mary Hogan

Mary Ruth Schierholz Hogan passed on quietly and peacefully at her home in North Muskegon on the evening of 23 August 2025. She left behind family, friends, and a community blessed and inspired by her service, ever-present love, and cheerful grace and equanimity throughout her life.

She is survived by her devoted husband of almost seventy years, Dr. David W. Hogan, a retired orthodontist; her younger brother, John C. Schierholz of St. Petersburg, Florida; her children (and spouses), David W. Hogan, Jr. (Page) of Bethesda, Maryland, Caroline Hogan Shugart (Scott) of Tampa, Florida, and William M. Hogan (Lynn) of North Muskegon; ten grandchildren (and three spouses) William A. Shugart (Felicia), Leigh Shugart Loomis (Shane), Paul H. Hogan, Thomas Y. Shugart, David L. Hogan (Shayna), Elizabeth M. Shugart, Benjamin A. Hogan, Arin L. Hogan, Julia E. Shugart, and Thomas M. Hogan; and two newborn great grandchildren, Theodore C. Shugart and Camelia M. Loomis. All of them were her great delight.

Mary came into the world on 2 November 1933 in St. Louis, Missouri, the third of five children of William Francis Schierholz, a successful businessman, and Florence Wuensch Schierholz, a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Washington University. Having enjoyed numerous summers at the family cottage in Ludington, Mary chose to attend Michigan State University over her father's preference for Principia College, a small religious school closer to home. Graduating in 1955, she served as a substitute teacher and worked in a department store before her marriage on 25 November 1955 in St. Louis to Dave, who was serving out his military commitment as a dentist for the Air Force. The couple initially lived at Lackland Air Force Base, outside San Antonio, but when the time came to choose a permanent residence, they elected to return to Mary's favorite spot--western Michigan. They started in Muskegon's Glenside Gardens near McGraft Park in 1958, moved to Roodmont in Norton Shores in 1960, and came to North Muskegon in 1968.

While Dave established his practice, Mary devoted herself to her first love: her home and family. These tasks were especially challenging in the 1960s and 1970s, when American society seemed in turmoil and the specter of drugs, crime, and disdain for authority haunted households across the nation. In a turbulent time, she provided a moral center for the family: a ready helpmate for her husband and a nurturing, supportive environment for her three children, always available to talk but firm where necessary. As grandchildren arrived, she devoted to all of them the same unconditional, seemingly inexhaustible love that she showed to others, particularly to nieces and nephews as her siblings departed the scene.

Her Christian Science faith was central to her life. She was a pillar of the First Church of Christ Science in Muskegon, serving repeatedly on the board, committees, and as a first and second reader at church services. For many years, she taught Sunday School to teenagers, even buying and listening to some of her students' favorite albums to understand their perspective. She read the daily lesson to her family each morning, and she regularly studied her Bible, the Christian Science textbook and other denominational literature. Her numerous testimonies at services showed her dedication and ability to demonstrate the healing message of Christ Jesus. She especially valued gratitude and preached it to her children for their many blessings.

Mary made many contributions to the community. She participated in Friends of Art, served as a docent with the Muskegon Museum of Art, and chaired the Affair of the Arts. She was deeply involved in the Muskegon Community Foundation, notably Leading Efforts Against Discrimination (LEAD), a pilot venture which has become a significant scholarship program that distributes $500,000 in scholarship funds per year and has expanded to include affiliates in Oceana, Mason, and Manistee Counties. As part of this program, Mary taught math to Bunker Middle School students, one of whom stayed in contact with her throughout the student's educational experience, including college. Her great interest in children led her to support the Child Abuse Council and two international children per year. Her other volunteer activities included PEO, the Questers, and the Jewish Christian Dialog. She and several close friends, who dubbed themselves the WOT's, were widely involved in community service and, along with their husbands-the MOB's-formed a close-knit social group that enjoyed everything from clever 40th birthday parties to excursions.

Mary's interest in art propelled her into a career. She took classes in pottery at Muskegon Community College. After receiving a second B.A. degree from the Kendall School of Art and Design, she became an interior designer, putting together a showcase room in the Hume House of Muskegon Heritage Village and later engaging in a successful business. Her eye for attractive interior arrangements benefitted a number of households.

Mary's upbeat, outgoing nature, winning smile, humility, and appreciation of the good and uniqueness in others endeared her to many. She loved the outdoors, skiing, playing tennis and golf, and swimming (as long as the water temperature was over 75 degrees); some of the best moments in her last months involved trips to the Michigan and Florida beaches that she loved so much. Christmas was her favorite holiday; she would hold holiday musicales, inviting all of her musical friends and their families to join in playing and singing carols. She had a wry sense of humor and could be mischievous; on a trip from Florida back to Michigan, she delighted in buying fireworks for her younger son. She adored her family, her friends, and Muskegon and will be greatly missed.

In lieu of flowers, donations to the Muskegon Museum of Art and the Child Abuse Council are welcome.