Mary Ann Lonergan 1932 - 2020

LONERGAN, SCHWARTZ

Posted By: Connie Swearingen (email)
Date: 12/6/2020 at 22:18:10

Sioux City Journal
5 August 2020

Mary Ann Lonergan

McCook Lake, S.D. (Buried Sioux City) --Mary Ann Lonergan, 88, of McCook Lake, died Sunday, Aug. 2, 2020, surrounded by family and friends.

Services will be 10:30 a.m. Thursday at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 5000 Military Road, in Sioux City, with the Very Rev. Terry Roder officiating. Interment will be in Calvary Cemetery, Sioux City. The family will receive friends from 4 to 7 p.m. today at Larkin Chapel, Christy-Smith Funeral Homes, 2320 Outer Drive, in Sioux City. Visitations will resume 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Thursday at the church. Online condolences may be made to the family at www.christysmith.com.

Mary Ann was born on April 10, 1932, in Dubuque, Iowa, to Arthur F. and Myrtle (Schwartz) Lonergan. She grew up in Dubuque, attending Sacred Heart Elementary and Immaculate Conception Academy, graduating in 1950. She graduated from Briar Cliff College and went on to Catholic University and to Notre Dame University, earning a master’s degree. She also pursued advanced studies at the University of Iowa.

She moved to Sioux City in 1965 to join the faculty of Briar Cliff College. As an assistant professor, Mary Ann taught many classes, including art history, ceramics, and drawing. In 1989, she received the Burlington Northern Foundation Faculty Achievement Award at Briar Cliff. She retired in 1997 as professor emerita of art.

Mary Ann had a passion for teaching, and particularly loved working with children and designing art education curricula. In 1995, she published Art and the Child, an integrated art curriculum for kindergarten through grade six. As a member of the Sioux City Art Center, she was also involved in the arts community and held professional memberships in the National Art Education Association and the Iowa Art Education Association. An accomplished artist, Mary Ann’s works consist primarily of contemporary icons.

She was a member of the Franciscan Order from Dubuque, Sisters of St. Francis, from 1950 to 1970, and an active member of the Sacred Heart Parish in Sioux City, where for many years she served as funeral committee co-chair with her sister, Joan Redding.

An outstanding cook and a gracious hostess, Mary Ann loved to entertain family and friends. She extended her warm hospitality to all and possessed a unique skill for making visitors feel welcome in her home. She loved all animals.

Survivors include her 19 nieces and nephews; along with many close friends including Jeff Baldus.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her sister, Joan Redding; and her brother, Richard Lonergan.

Mary Ann’s family suggests donations in her memory be directed to the Mary Ann Lonergan Endowed Art Scholarship Fund at Briar Cliff