Mary Heering ’91 Hoats
Mary Annah ( Heering) Hoats, 86, died on January 3, 2018, after a battle with cancer.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Paul Orlando and Lily Ann ( Penney) Heering; her brother, David Penney Heering ( Joanne), and her former husband, Claude L. Hoats. Surviving are her children, Jacqueline Shields ( Gary), Charles Hoats ( Holly), and Betsy Hoats; grandchildren Samuel, Benjamin, and William Hoats, and Noelle and Lily Shields; sister Susan Sanford, and numerous nieces and nephews.
Born in Jackson, Mary was raised in Bay City and Grand Rapids, graduating from Creston High School in 1949 and summering at Port Sheldon beach, playing tennis and fishing on Pigeon Lake. After attending Grand Rapids Junior College for art, she moved to Annapolis, where she attended many Naval Academy balls in the 1950s.
Mary earned her B. F. A. ( Illustration) at age 60 from Kendall College of Art & Design. She worked at Herrick Public Library for 25 years, retiring in 2011. She sewed costumes at the Hope Summer Repertory Theatre in the 1990s. The past 15 summers found her at Chautauqua in New York studying art and literature.
Mary’s optimistic outlook touched everyone she met. She especially loved late- night Scrabble and martinis. Marywas a huge fan of University of Michigan football, and a proud O- negative ( universal) blood donor.
A celebration of Mary’s Life will be held in the spring. Memorial donations may be made to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society ( lls. org), or the American Red Cross ( redcross. org). Blood donations especially appreciated.
