Linda Hogrefe

(Mary) Linda Hogrefe, age 87 of Beavercreek, passed away peacefully January 14, 2025, in her home surrounded by friends and family. She was born October 14, 1937, in Findlay, Ohio, to Wilbur C. and Florinne (Ewing) Pifer. She loved growing up in the town of Findlay, skating and swimming at Donnell Park, gardening and walking through the woods on her grandparents’ farm, going to church and camp meetings, riding her bike all over town, taking piano lessons, and playing violin in the orchestra.

She led a life of joy, wonder, adventure, faith, humility, and love.

After graduation from Findlay High School in 1955, she attended Asbury College in Wilmore Kentucky and earned her degree in Elementary Education in 1959. In the summer of 1958, she served as a bridesmaid at her best friend’s wedding and met a handsome groomsmen who was a student at Bowling Green State University; she and Carl F. Hogrefe embarked on a long-distance relationship, and married less than a year later, on July 26, 1959. They built a life together based on love, devotion, companionship, and partnership and have been by each other’s side for over 65 years. They created a household of faith and love, raised 3 children, traveled all over the country and the world, and worked to make the world a better place in many ways.

Linda and Carl started their life together in Fostoria, Ohio, where she taught 4th grade. In 1960, the young couple moved to Beavercreek, Ohio, where she taught at Main Elementary before starting their family in 1962.

While raising their children, Linda worked as a substitute teacher for Beavercreek Schools, worked toward a master’s degree in library science from Wright State University, worked as a bank teller for Gem City Savings and Loan, and as an office administrator for the Environmental Engineering group at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

She loved being a mother and a grandmother and had an ability to focus on each child as if they were the only child in the universe. She was a great encourager – and was there for all the games, meets, recitals, lessons, concerts, productions, and scouting family camps.

She and Carl joined Peace Lutheran Church in 1961, and have been active in the congregation for over 60 years; she taught Sunday School and Vacation Bible School, was the librarian, volunteered several times a week in the church office, sang in the choir, enjoyed fellowship with her Koinonia fellowship group, and served on various councils.

She was a passionate gardener and helped found the Redbud Garden Club; she was a Master Gardener Volunteer and worked at the perennial and herb gardens at Cox Arboretum many years. She landscaped each of their homes in Beavercreek, grew and canned fruits and vegetables, and raised prize-winning zinnias.

She loved history and the arts and was a member and officer of the Beavercreek Historical Society and the Beavercreek Women’s League. She played the violin in several groups, her favorite being the Yellow Springs Strings.

She had a life-long love of bicycling, and was a founding member of the Peace Pedal Pushers, biking weekly on all the local bike paths for several decades with her good friends.

She loved traveling. She backpacked, she camped, she cruised. She organized annual family vacations to most of the US National Parks and historic sites in over 40 states, many mini-trips all over the Midwest, cruised throughout the Caribbean, and traveled to over 20 countries in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

She loved their second home at Buckeye Lake in Millersport, Ohio, spending a lot of time there kayaking, boating, swimming, and gardening; she found life on the water restorative and energizing.

She saw the value in supporting many missions locally and globally. She volunteered with Lutheran Social Services in Dayton, and at a domestic violence shelter in Xenia.

She lived with ovarian cancer for over a decade; she remained positive, and lived with great fortitude through years of periodic chemotherapy sessions. At the same time, she gracefully dealt with loss of vision to macular degeneration. Her doctors and nurses marveled at her optimism, strength, and faith.

Linda is survived by her husband, Carl, her three children, David (Brian Kemp) of Bexley, Ohio, Jeff (Lyn) of St George, Utah, and Sharon Rahe (John) of Centerville, Ohio, and her five grandchildren, Kyle Roberts, Jackson, Tyler, and Will Rahe, and Ryan Kemp. She is also survived by her brother, Steve Pifer (Nancy), brother-in law Ken Hogrefe (Gwen), brother -in-law Howard Hogrefe, and many nieces, nephews, and close friends.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in her memory be made to charities of one’s choice. Linda would often comment that there is so much good to be done in the world, and so many opportunities to serve and connect.