Mary Catherine Haug

Mary Catherine (MC) Haug, of Oakland, California, passed away peacefully on April 2, 2024 at the age of 80. Born in Norfolk, Virginia on October 31, 1943 she graduated from Granby High School and went on to Randolph Macon Women's College in Lynchburg, Virginia where she received a degree in Sociology. While in college, she gave tours at Colonial Williamsburg in full period dress, a time she remembered fondly all her life. From there she attended grad school at the University of Michigan where she received a Masters in Sociology & Anthropology. MC was a Phi Beta Kappa and Fulbright scholar in Cold War Berlin, Germany and was very proud of her academic achievements.
MC moved to California in the early 1970s and was a proud resident of Rockridge in Oakland for almost 50 years. She married Arthur Robinson Boone III in 1975, and they had 3 children together: Will, Isabelle and Phoebe Boone. Their union ended after 20 years, but the family remained close, celebrating life's big and small moments together.
During her early years in the Bay Area, MC had a brief career in urban planning and redevelopment for the city of San Francisco, but she was a teacher at heart. She went on to receive her teaching credential from Sac State and spent the majority of her career in the Oakland Unified School District working as a Special Needs/Resource Specialist before retiring in 2011.
In retirement, MC continued her love of teaching by hosting and boarding international students, leading them on tours around the Bay Area, and serving as a docent tour guide at the Camron-Stanford house on Lake Merritt. She was an avid participant in and supporter of the California Revels, serving on its Board of Directors for many years. She was active in her local community, serving on the Rockridge Community Planning Council and volunteering at the local Red Cross blood bank, greeting donors by name.
MC was always welcoming her and her children's friends and new acquaintances to her home - and especially to her dinner table. She loved gardening (roses, native plants, tomatoes), visiting Yosemite, and decorating for any holiday but especially Halloween (her birthday). She loved her children, Classical music, and her many cats. She will be deeply missed.
MC is preceded in death by her parents (Mildred) Isabelle O'Brien (of Appomattox County, Virginia) and Adolph Haug (of Zurich, Switzerland), as well as her brother (William) Bill Haug. She is survived by her son William Boone, her daughters Isabelle Boone George and Phoebe Boone Green, and grandchildren Joseph George and Adelaide Green.
A memorial service will be held August 17th in Oakland, California. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. Dorothy's Rest (in Camp Meeker, CA), Starcross Monastic Community (in Annapolis, CA) or the KDFC radio station. Online condolences can be sent to her email (HaugMC@gmail.com) and will be received by her children.
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