Mary Ann Morsberger

Mary Ann Morsberger

Mary Ann Morsberger, 88, loving wife of Philip Morsberger and daughter of Wallace and Ruby Frances Gallien, entered into rest on Sunday, September 6, 2020. In addition to her husband, she is survived by her daughter, Wendy Morsberger (Gareth Hougham) of Ossining, NY; niece, Grace Morsberger (Richard Stern) of Vienna, Austria; and three grandsons (Ben, Jesse, and Elan Morsberger). She was predeceased by her son, Robert Morsberger (Lisa Morsberger) of Croton, NY, in 2013.

Mary Ann was born in Fairmont, West Virginia in 1932, where her lifelong love of the arts and outdoor sports began. She graduated in 1954 from Carnegie Institute of Technology with a degree in Home Economics, and shortly thereafter hosted one of television’s first cooking shows. In 1956, she married Philip Morsberger, the dashing art student who had captured her heart while they were students at Carnegie Tech. They moved to Oxford, England later that year while Philip earned his Certificate in Fine Art at Oxford University's Ruskin School of Drawing and where their daughter, Wendy, was born. They returned to the U.S. in 1958 and Philip joined the faculty at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where their son, Robert, was born. Mary Ann taught Home Economics at the junior high and high school level, organizing students throughout the school district to make and distribute toys and clothing to disadvantaged children. For the next 40 years, Mary Ann was the consummate academic and artist’s spouse, supporting Philip in his appointments at Miami University, Rochester Institute of Technology, Oxford University, Harvard, Dartmouth, U.C. Berkeley, and the California College of Arts and Crafts, famously hosting parties still spoken of decades later. In 1996, Mary Ann and Philip moved to Augusta where Philip was installed as the William S. Morris Eminent Scholar of Art at Augusta State University. They fell in love with the city and quickly made deep new friendships, choosing to make Augusta their permanent home. Mary Ann was a proud supporter of the Morris Museum, the Augusta Symphony, the Augusta Ballet, the Sacred Heart Cultural Center, and the Harry Jacobs Music Society, to mention just a few of the city’s cultural institutions that fueled her love of the arts. Mary Ann would return to England each summer for more than two decades, hosting a steady stream of visitors from the U.S. and beyond at the family’s flat in Oxford.

Throughout her life, Mary Ann was a creative, vibrant, earnest supporter of arts organizations, social justice issues, and a large international circle of friends. She was welcoming of newcomers wherever she lived. She was instrumental in guiding her daughter into her career as a professional ballet dancer and her son into his life’s work as a nationally recognized composer/singer-songwriter. Mary Ann loved baseball (the Oakland A’s), poetry, roses, Mozart, Shakespeare, singing gospel music, and gourmet cooking. She was witty, warm, charming, and generous, reaching out to those who needed it most. Mary Ann’s last few years were spent courageously living with Alzheimer’s disease. Mary Ann’s presence in the world has left it a better, brighter place. She will be much missed.

The funeral Mass will be Thursday, September 10, 2020, at 2:00 pm at St. Mary on the Hill Catholic Church with Fr. Mark Ross, celebrant.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association.

Thomas Poteet & Son Funeral Directors, 214 Davis Rd., Augusta, GA 30907 (706) 364-8484. Please sign the guestbook at www.thomaspoteet.com