Mary Hart Cogan

Mary Hart Cogan of Hingham and Chatham, community activist and philanthropist, beloved mother and grandmother, died peacefully at home on December 14, 2015.

 Mary (“Terry”) Hart Cogan was born on August 2, 1928 in Hyannis, Massachusetts to Marie Welch Hart and Walter V. Hart, where she was raised and graduated from Barnstable High School.  She then graduated from Bridgewater State College in 1951.  She pursued a career as a teacher in the Lexington public schools for a number of years, which she then set aside to raise her four children in Lexington, Massachusetts. She continued to have ties to her beloved Cape Cod throughout her life and was a longtime resident of Chatham, Massachusetts, her family summer home. She loved figure skating, joining a national champion women’s’ competitive team, biking, tennis, choral music, watercolor and pastel painting and gardening.

 Terry was an avid supporter of education and the arts.  She generously donated to her alma mater Bridgewater State (now Bridgewater State University) where she served on the Board of Trustees, the Board of the Alumni Association, and the board of the BSU Foundation.  She was honored for her service and contribution to Bridgewater with an honorary doctorate in public service in 1999.  She served on the Board of Trustees of the Boston Ballet, where she was a large benefactor that endowed Hart Artistic Director chair for Mikko Nissinen.  She also served on the Board of Trustees for the Heritage Museum and Gardens, the Cape Cod Museum of Art, the Academy of performing Arts, Orleans, Massachusetts, Friends of the Monomoy Theater, Chatham, Massachusetts and served as president of the Boston University Hospital Auxiliary and Brigham and Women’s Hospital Auxiliary.

She was active in Democratic politics for many years, both locally and nationally. She served as a delegate to the Democratic Convention in 1974 and 1986.  She served as the Elderly Vote Coordinator for Senator Paul Tsongas in 1972, Field Director of the Massachusetts Carter presidential campaign in 1980 and a member of the Finance Committee of the Democratic National Committee (1988-1992).  She was also a strong supporter and member of Emily’s list and the women in national politics they promoted.  

She is survived by her four children, Peter G. Cogan of Seattle, Washington, Pamela Cogan Riddle of Atherton, California, Jonathan C. Cogan of Arlington, Virginia and Gregory M. Cogan of Norwell, Massachusetts, her nine grandchildren (Katherine C. Riddle, Timothy C. Riddle, Miles D. Cogan, Devon J. Cogan, Marley R. Cogan, Kelly H. Cogan, Conor J. Cogan, Alison F. Cogan and Emily R. Cogan) and her sister Margaret Hart Foley of Centerville, Massachusetts.  She is also survived by her former husband John F. Cogan, Jr. 

 At the request of her family, interment services will be private. Friends and relatives are invited to attend a Mass in celebration of her life on January 9, 2016 at St. Paul’s Church, 147 North Street, Hingham at 11 AM  with a reception immediately following at South Shore Country Club, 274 South St., Hingham.  The family expresses its thanks and gratitude to the Celtic Angels for their extraordinary care for Terry. Donations may be made in lieu of flowers to BSU Foundation, Davis Alumni Center, 25 Park Terrace, Bridgewater, MA 02325.