Marian Patton Hough

Minutes before the sun rose on Holy Thursday, Marian Patton Hough was released from the illnesses that long-held her body, spirit and mind hostage. This woman of great faith and goodness is surely soaring with the angels, an image of peace and joy for those who love and miss her most. Marian died April 9, 2020, at age 87. Born in Lancaster on July 4, 1932, to Charles P. and Naomi Hammond Patton, she was the youngest of three children and the couple’s only daughter. Her Independence Day entrance ensured a lifetime of red, white and blue birthday cakes. If she longed for pastel-colored icing, she never complained. Marian graduated from McCaskey High School, attended Lebanon Valley College, and graduated from Lancaster General Hospital School of Nursing. Her first job as an industrial nurse at Alcoa came at a time when RNs wore white starched caps and even whiter dresses, hosiery and shoes. Marian’s no-nonsense approach to health care was balanced by a loving and empathetic bedside manner. In 1955, friends introduced Marian to a mustachioed, motorcycle-riding, leather-jacket-wearing seminary student from Illinois. Marian and M. Melvin Hough knew within a week that theirs would be a shared lifetime. Mel sold his Triumph to buy Marian’s engagement ring; her parents initially worked to slow the wedding plans. Mel and Marian, of Homestead Village, would have celebrated 64 years of marriage on June 2. With a partnership built on love and guided by faith, they served churches in Sumner, Shabbona, Sterling and Prophetstown, Illinois, as well as in Lancaster at Covenant United Methodist Church, where Marian was reared and was a member at her death. Marian worked at LGH and Illinois hospitals in Lawrenceville and DeKalb. She retired as a nurse manager at CGH Medical Center in Sterling, a community she served through numerous organizations including the YWCA as its president. Marian cherished being a pastor’s wife, a role that was difficult for her to relinquish in retirement. She was a summer church camp counselor, Bible study leader, Sunday school teacher and vacation Bible school coordinator. She sang in the choir and directed children’s Christmas pageants. Marian occasionally preached from the pulpit. A truly faithful servant of God, she held the hands of the sick, cooked for new parents, counseled troubled parishioners and younger nursing colleagues, and prayed with the families of those whose deaths were imminent. The lonely and homeless often found a seat at her family’s Sunday dinner table. Marian’s children will remember her soft touch, her easy and unconditional love. So, too, her apple pies and pickled red beets and strawberry jam. She was a hugger; those who offered her a lackluster embrace were sure to get a tutorial. She was a teetotaler who didn’t swear, dance or play cards, reasons her kids teasingly called her Saint Marian. She was always tired; she loved to take naps. Never was she more comfortable than when shuffling around the house in a robe and slippers. Her passion was always caring for others. If she were here, Marian the nurse would join her husband and their family in praising and thanking health care professionals at Homestead Village, LGH, and Hospice & Community Care for their expertise and gentle kindness. In addition to her husband, Marian is survived by three children: Barbara, wife of Dr. Gerald G. Huesken, Lancaster; D. Mark, husband of Sheila (Anderson), Lititz; and Beth, wife of Leopold Gorecki, Yardley; six grandchildren, Audrey Bonchack (Matthew); Jonathan Palomarez (Elizabeth); Amy Stoltzfus (Robert); Rachel and Aaron Gorecki; and Faith Roda; and five great-grandchildren, Natalie, Alice and Lucas Bonchack, and Caleb and Riley Palomarez. She is also survived by brothers, Jay, husband of the late Phyllis Patton, New Holland, and James, husband of Jean Patton, Lancaster. A niece and nephews also survive. Following health guidelines, Marian’s memorial service will be announced at a later date. Private interment will be in Paradise Mennonite Cemetery. Donations in Marian’s memory can be made to the Homestead Endowment Fund at Homestead Village, 1800 Village Circle, Lancaster, PA 17603.