Mabel Hoagland

Mabel Ketchum Hoagland, 93, passed away peacefully on May 20, 2014.  She was the daughter of Jesse Lafayette Ketchum and Dora Anderson Ketchum of Eufaula, Alabama, and came to Atlanta in 1938 to attend and graduate from the Draughon School of Commerce. She met her husband, Hoagy, in 1951 when they went separately to attend a Sunday afternoon Albert Coleman concert at the Fox Theater.  At the time, she had an apartment next door to Celestine Sibley on 13th street.  Coincidentally, Hoagy had boarded at Celestine’s in the late 1940’s, while a student at Georgia Tech.Mabel and Hoagy were married for 53 years. They built their own home in 1956.They purchased a travel trailer in 1965 and traveled with their two daughters, sharing many memories of weekends and vacations camping, from Key West to Canada and Mexico. Hoagy retired in 1980; however Mabel continued working at CDC, retiring in 1994.  They traveled extensively to Europe, Hawaii, Jamaica, Bermuda, Alaska, Costa Rica and many Senior Golf Association trips. Her working career included several insurance companies, Scripto Pen and Pencil Company, and 23 years for the Centers for Disease Control.  She was a long time member of St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church, Life Enrichment, Senior Spectrum Plus, the DeKalb Ambassadors, the CDC Chapter of the National Association of Retired Federal Employees, and was a DeKalb County Lifetime Master Gardener. She was preceded in death by her husband, parents, three brothers and one sister. She is survived by daughters Rosie Russell and Katharyn McLendon, son-in-law Scott Russell, grandson Jim Russell, and numerous caring relatives. A memorial service will be held at St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church, 1790 LaVista Road NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30329 on Saturday, May 31, 2014 at 1:00 PM.  In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to: St. Bartholomew’s Memorial Fund, 1790 LaVista Road NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30329