Monica Ann DeYoung

Monica Ann DeYoung (Roggenbuck) passed away peacefully on Sunday, November 26, 2005 at her home in Houston, Texas, after a brief illness. She was 72. Monica will be remembered lovingly by her large circle of family and friends as a lifelong learner who constantly strove to understand the bigger world, connect to it spiritually and appreciate its beauty. A devotee of the fine arts, she spent much of her adult life traveling the world and reading everything she could get her hands on in her quest for knowledge and understanding. Her travels took her to the temples of India, the opera in Vienna, the castles of Ireland and many points in between. She always had the next big trip planned, sometimes even before she had finished the last. Her favorite destinations were Colorado and Michigan to visit her children and grandchildren, where she happily applied the love of a Granny and her gifts as a nurse and a seamstress to mend babies and buttons alike. Monica was born Oct. 26, 1933, in Harbor Beach, Michigan and grew up on a nearby farm with her eight brothers and five sisters. She graduated from Our Lady of Lake Huron in 1951 and from St. Mary`s Nursing School in 1955. She received her bachelor`s degree from Central Michigan University in 1976 and master`s at Michigan State University in 1980. She married Melbourne James DeYoung in 1955 and had five children. For 30 years she lived in Lansing, where she raised her family and worked as a nurse, primarily at Ingham Medical Center. She was instrumental in bringing the Hospice program to Lansing, serving two terms as president of the Board of Lansing Hospice, and was a longtime advocate of a patient`s right to die with dignity and respect. She moved to her adopted city of Houston in 1987 and she continued her nursing career. While living in Houston she immersed herself in its rich cultural offerings, regularly attending the opera and symphony and serving as an usher at the Alley Theatre. She was a volunteer in many worthwhile organizations both in Houston and in Lansing. She is preceded in death by her parents, Leo and Clara Roggenbuck, sister Aletha Romzek, brothers Jerome and Glenn Roggenbuck, sister-in-law Rochelle Roggenbuck and grandchildren Shadrach Fritts and Jamie DeYoung. She is survived by her son Jim and wife Karen DeYoung and their three children Jessica, Nicole and Clara; daughter Elizabeth and husband John Tester and their two children, Eric and Brianna; daughter Ann and husband Reg Fritts and their son Travis; son Matthew and wife Ellen Headrick and their son Joey; and daughter Sarah and husband Dave Spratt and their two daughters, Emma and Natalie. She is also survived by her sisters, Edna (Tony) Roth; Lula Roggenbuck; Becky (Rich) Groll; and Anita (Scott) Plummer; brothers Chuck (Bertha), Vin (Phyllis), Orv (Lucy), Carl (Carol), Earl (Brenda), and Harry Roggenbuck; sisters-in-law Barbara and Dorothy Roggenbuck; and many loving nieces and nephews and dear friends. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Monday, Dec. 5 at Saint Anthony`s Catholic Church with Fr. Bob Roggenbuck officiating. A rosary-vigil service will be at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday in the Ramsey Funeral Home, Harbor Beach. Visitation will be from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 4 at the funeral home and from 10 a.m. to time of the service on Monday at St. Anthony`s Church. Memorials may be given to the Hospice of Lansing, Houston Hospice or Doctors Without Borders.

Monica Ann DeYoung

October 26, 1933 - November 27, 2005