Centreville, MD resident Hallie Rogers Rugg passed away on Thursday, July 11 at the Queenstown Landing Memory Care unit. She had recently celebrated her 78th birthday.
Hallie was born in Point Pleasant, NJ on June 26, 1946, daughter of Lawrence Harrison Rogers, II (New Jersey) and Suzanne Hamilton Long Rogers (West Virginia) and she grew up in Huntington, West Virginia. Hallie attended the Shipley School in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, graduating in 1964 and traveling to Florence, Italy to study art history at Villa Mercede. Upon her return, she studied Graphic Design at the Parsons School of Design in Manhattan, eventually working for Hanna Barbera as an Inker painting cells for many of the cartoons we all recognize from our childhood. She continued her career at advertising firms in both New York City and Washington, DC.
Hallie married her high school sweetheart, Daniel Maltby Rugg, III of Port Washington, New York on June 27, 1970 at St. James Church in Manhattan, following Dan’s commissioning from the United States Naval Academy. Thus, begun the next 10 years of moves, criss-crossing the country in support of Dan’s Naval career landing in Clearwater, Florida for Dan’s new job as Vice President of Hood Sailmakers in 1979. Hallie’s passion and patriotism were steadfast – she was deeply proud of her family’s multi-generational military service to our country, her deep roots in America and colorful Scottish ancestry.
In addition to raising their daughter, Frazier and son, Whitney, in 1981 Hallie turned her entrepreneurial spirit to a custom yacht interiors business: Below Decks, Inc. Hallie designed custom power yacht and sailboat interiors over the next 20 years.
She was an avid motorsports fan, she loved both open wheel and stock car racing, which only added fuel to her competitive nature. Hallie, Dan and her father founded the St. Petersburg Grand Prix in 1985, bringing motorsports racing to the streets of St. Pete for the first time.
Hallie was a prolific artist – specifically needlepoint and painting, including trompe l'oeil murals. Her artistic flair and generous spirit blanketed her far-flung circle of friends and family: she has left an amazing legacy of artistic gifts, decorations, paintings, Christmas stockings and ornaments.
Hallie’s generosity and love for those around her knew no limits. She was always ready to give of herself – time, love, her own possessions – anything to comfort a sick friend, a sad relative or right a wrong the best way she could.
When she wasn’t creating art itself, she was artful in the kitchen – constantly exploring new recipes and employing the skills she learned at Patricia Wells’ cooking school in Provence, France. Hallie invested her time and talent in the Altar Guild of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Centreville, leading that mission for many years and hours of set up, clean up, ironing and polishing.
Hallie is survived by her loving husband, Dan; Daughter Frazier (husband Kevin); son Whitney (wife Kelli) and grandchildren Taylor, Ellis, Campbell, Morgan and Alden; sisters Sukey, Campbell, Natalie and brother Tripp as well as multiple nieces and nephews. She is predeceased by her parents and brother Christian.
Funeral service will be held at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 301 S. Liberty Street, Centreville, MD on Friday, September 27, 2024, at 10:30AM. Reception will follow at church. Burial will be held privately.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Hallie’s memory to St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Tunnel to Towers Foundation, or the Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation
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Updated: July 27, 2024
Curator: Ed Moore