Margaret “Mugsie” Hoerig, age 97, of Pompton Plains and formerly of Pines Lake in Wayne, passed peacefully from this life on Sunday, February 18, 2018.

Margaret was born and raised in Clifton along with her three brothers and three sisters. A lover of the outdoors, she learned at an early age to be an accomplished speed skater. Ahead of her time for a young woman living in the late 1930’s and early 1940’s, she medaled numerous times in the Clifton recreational league among her male and female competitors. Margaret also enjoyed horseback riding as a young girl and cheerleading for her hometown Clifton High School sports teams. After high school graduation with the Class of 1937, she was off to nursing school at Passaic General Hospital where she stayed in the school’s dorms during her years of nursing education.

One day in 1941, while in a candy store in Jersey City, Margaret found herself short a penny for her purchase. A young Navy sailor named Walter Hoerig just happened to be in the store at the same time and soon became aware of her dilemma. Walt willingly provided his penny to Margaret and the conversation that ensued that day turned into sixty-seven years of loving marriage for Walt and “Mugsie”, as Walt affectionately called her. They married in 1943 during a visit to New Orleans. Walt would probably tell you that it was the best penny he ever spent.

After earning her credentials and license as a Registered Nurse, Margaret’s first job was with the Visiting Nurse Service in New York City. Walt was still in the Navy at the time.  When he was transferred to the west coast, she took a position with Visiting Nurses in Bremerton, Washington so that she and Walt could remain near each other. After the war, they returned to New Jersey where she began a wonderful career with Passaic General Hospital.

Margaret was a very passionate nurse who displayed a genuine love for those entrusted in her care and she truly enjoyed working with the other nurses at the hospital. When her children were young, she worked part-time while her own father babysat. At one point, she decided to pursue school nursing, but the demands of further education plus working full time made her uncomfortable about not being able to give her family the love, care, and attention she wanted.  As a result, she decided to return to Passaic General after a few years. Besides, Mugsie, as her friends called her too, missed being with the other nurses at their 6 am coffee-klatches before their shift started.  In 1988, the hospital celebrated her retirement with a party, honoring her for all her years of dedication.  A few years later, she felt she still had more to give so she worked for several more years part-time.  

Mugsie and Walt moved to Pines Lake in 1954. They loved living and raising their family there so much that they stayed for fifty-five years until moving to Cedar Crest Village in Pompton Plains in 2009. There was always a real sense of community in Pines Lake and in the early years, Margaret enjoyed being a member of the “Sweet Adeline’s” – a women’s singing group. She loved life at the lake and especially afternoons swimming and talking with her beach friends. In the winter, when the lake was frozen, she really enjoyed sharing her passion for ice skating with her husband and children.

While watching the Squaw Valley Winter Olympics on TV in 1960, Mugsie and Walt thought that downhill skiing looked like a lot of fun. Soon the whole family began skiing. They would go to New York State, Vermont and New Hampshire on ski weekends and vacations. In later years, she took up cross country skiing too. Together with Walt, Mugsie skied well into her eighties and enjoyed being members of the 80-plus Club at Vernon Valley Ski Resort where, because of their age, they could ski for free.

In addition to skating and skiing together with family and friends, Walt and Mugsie enjoyed traveling during their retirement.  They usually camped with friends and made several cross-country trips across both the United States and Canada for weeks at a time.  When they were in their mid-70’s, one particular noteworthy trip for just the two of them was an 8-day raft trip down the Colorado River through the rapids and Grand Canyon and then across Lake Powell.

Margaret’s children recall their Mom being fully invested in their lives and well-being. Together with their father, she always made it a priority to be present for their academic ceremonies, swimming meets, and other sporting events. This was very meaningful to their children as was their parent’s love and support for all their grandchildren.

Margaret was the beloved wife of the late Walter Hoerig who passed away in 2010. She is survived by two children; Jane Hoerig and her husband Ted Garcia of Haymarket, VA, and Dan Hoerig and his wife Kathy Poehnert of Interlaken, NJ, as well as three grandchildren:  Cody Hoerig of Ocean Grove, NJ, Erin Garcia of Washington, DC, and Grant Garcia and his wife Natasha of Chicago, IL and two great grandchildren, Blakely and Rylan.  Mugsie was also predeceased by three sisters and three brothers: Mary, Helen, Anna, Mike, Emil and John.

In lieu of flowers, those planning an expression of sympathy in Margaret’s name are asked to consider the USO (United Service Organizations, Inc.), USO Department WS, PO Box 96860 Washington, DC 20090-6860 (www.uso.org), or Doctors Without Borders USA, P.O. Box 5030, Hagerstown, MD 21741-5030 (www.doctorswithoutborders.org).